911 calls released in case of off-duty deputy who shot, killed Jason Walker in Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Emergency 911 calls from the deadly Fayetteville shooting that killed Jason Walker were released Tuesday.
So far, two 911 calls made around 2 p.m. on Saturday in the area where Walker was shot and killed have been released.
One of the calls is short and uneventful. It was placed by a bystander but by the time he makes the call officers arrive, so the call is soon ended.
The other call is made by Cumberland County deputy Lt. Jeffrey Hash. On the phone Hash, who was off duty at the time, tells the 911 operator that a man, later identified as Walker, ran at his truck, jumped on its hood, ripped off his windshield wiper and started hitting it against his windshield.
"I was driving down the road, and he came flying across Bingham Drive running," Hash said. "Then I stopped so I wouldn't hit him, and he jumped on my car and started screaming, pulled my windshield wipers off and started beating my windshield and broke my windshield. I had my wife and my daughter in my vehicle."
Hash does not describe how the shooting happened. Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins has said that the shot fired at Walker did not go through the truck's windshield.
Hash does tell the 911 operator that Walker did not have a weapon, other than the windshield wiper Hash said he ripped off his truck, a detail confirmed by Hawkins.
In the background of the call, people can be heard gathering and questioning Hash about what happened.
"I'm trying to protect my daughter and my wife right now...people are walking around; people are hostile right now," Hash told the 911 operator.
In addition, a person who Hash describes as a trauma nurse can be heard on the scene trying to treat and help Walker.
"Did you find the holes ma'am?.. I can see blood on the side," Hash said to the nurse while on the 911 call.
Elizabeth Ricks said she is the person who was trying to treat Walker's lifeless body at the scene.
"I was talking to him trying to calm him down even though he may not have heard me, I said it's going to be OK, baby," said Ricks
WATCH: Protesters again march for Jason Walker in Fayetteville
Walker's family has pushed back against the police narrative that Walker jumped on Hash's truck.
"I don't believe he threw himself on top of a truck," one of Walker's cousins said to ABC11 Sunday. "I believe he wanted to live. I just want justice for my cousin because it's not adding up."
Walker's family has repeatedly said the 37-year-old father was not violent or erratic.
They have hired noted civil rights lawyer Ben Crump to represent them.
"This compelling interview with Elizabeth Ricks, one of the few witnesses to Jason Walker's senseless killing, begins to clear up some of the facts in this case.," Crump said in a statement to ABC11 on Wednesday. "The fact that a civilian was the only person that rendered aid to Jason as he took his last breath is horrifying. It is apparent by Ms. Ricks' accounts that the off-duty officer who was involved in this incident, as well as the officers who responded to the incident, were self-interested and concerned about obscuring how the public would see this killing, rather than concerned for Jason in his final moments."
So far, no witnesses have come forward saying they actually saw what happened, according to police.
WATCH: Witness who tried to help Walker speaks with ABC11
But Ricks, a former nurse, told ABC11 that she heard the shooting and actually saw the off-duty officer's truck hit Walker.
Ricks said that since the tragic shooting, she and her family have been receiving death threats.
Asked why she hasn't yet reached out to investigators, Ricks said her attorney is collaborating with the SBI on this matter. She said she wasn't ready to disclose her attorney's name.
On Monday, local officials urged restraint from anyone jumping to conclusions about what happened.
"We ask people to give some patience and calmness," Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said. "Let us be there for the families in the meantime. I'm sure they want justice, they want answers, just like we want the same thing, and we ask people to remain calm. We'll get a lot more accomplished by doing it the right way through the system."
Since Sunday, the State Bureau of Investigation in Raleigh has been asking witnesses to come forward.
On Wednesday, several Fayetteville City Council members issued a message to residents.
"We would like to first extend our condolences to the Walker family as they grieve the loss of their loved one," said councilmembers Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, Shakeyla M. Ingram and Yvonne Y. Kinston. "Recently, there have been several actions taken to bring transparency to this tragic event. We think it's important to acknowledge Chief Gina V. Hawkins and the Fayetteville Police Department for reaching out to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) to take the lead on this investigation to ensure full transparency is being met. In our recent city council meeting the council gave official direction for our city attorney and city manager to request that the Department of Justice review the city's response and policies to include providing any assistance available to the investigation being conducted by the SBI. We want to strongly reflect and ensure to our citizens that we are responding to their concerns on these tragic events and our hearts ache with you as we are not only leaders of this city, but neighbors that live in this city with you. We all are doing our job to ensure all answers and evidence are presented and will support the SBI in any way we can during this investigation as they are now the lead investigators."
