Bear Paw – Felony charges were dismissed on March 1 against Jason Harley Kloepfer, an Upper Bear Paw Road resident who was shot by the Cherokee Tribal Police SWAT team responding to a 911 call from a neighbor on Dec. 13.
District Attorney Ashley Welch’s office said the charge of communicating threats was dismissed “at the request of the prosecuting witness,” while the charge of resisting a public officer was dismissed “upon prosecutorial discretion, and the charging document does not list the type of orders given and under what circumstances that this would be a duty of their office.”
The two dismissal orders were signed on March 1 by Chief Assistant District Attorney Jason Arnold. However, the Dec. 13 incident continues to draw attention following a shocking video that refutes official law enforcement’s version of the raid.
On Jan. 18, Kloepfer posted on Facebook a video of the raid taken by a surveillance camera installed inside his camper that showed him
being awakened by a SWAT drone, picking up the drone and opening his front door in an apparent attempt to comply with the orders being shouted at him by law enforcement outside. As he opened the door, he was met by a hail of gunfire.
The video clearly shows that the initial release issued Dec. 13, which stated, “The suspected shooter engaged in a verbal altercation with officers and emerged from a camper trailer and confronted officers,” was debatably inaccurate.
Kloepfer’s Facebook post stirred up a torrent of activity on social media, even to the point of getting its own Wikipedia page. To deal with the high volume of calls about the shooting, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office even set up a special telephone line in its automated answer system just for calls about the raid.
The video has led to national media coverage of the case, a follow-up release by Sheriff Dustin Smith expressing his desire for a sheriff’s office SWAT team and the resignation of Darryl Brown as the sheriff’s office attorney.
The raid
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office requested the Cherokee Tribal SWAT team after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor who reporting that Kloepfer, 41, was shooting a gun and fireworks. The caller heard a man and woman arguing.
“Male was saying he will kill everyone in the neighborhood,” according to an official narrative of the incident from Cherokee County E-911 Communications. “RP (reporting party) has on video the male saying send the cops, I’ll get them too. RP heard his wife screaming stop it a bunch of times and a couple of shots, and now RP cannot hear him.”
The 911 call came in just before 11 p.m. Dec. 12. Cherokee County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene and assessed the situation for more than an hour before requesting help from outside agencies, including the Tribal SWAT team. Meanwhile, deputies continued to comb the area, noting such things as multiple security cameras around the house, music playing in the garage, and the number of exterior doors in the camper and which way they opened.
Officials contacted the State Bureau of Investigation to see if it had a better surveillance robot than what tribal police could provide. SBI responded that it could not provide the requested robot because it does not have a valid memorandum of understanding for use of the equipment.
Meanwhile, some of the Tribal SWAT members had arrived by 2:21 a.m. Dec. 13 – 2½ hours after the initial 911 response – and were waiting for the rest to arrive. Cherokee County sheriff’s deputies briefed the arriving SWAT team members:
“… This was a domestic that was going on outside,” according to the report narrative. “Male fired several rounds. He was yelling at the neighbor. He said he would kill all the neighbors. He said he would kill the cops. He fired one round into the garage that is secured. The RP saw the male go into the camper. Saw the male secure the garage apartment and then walk into the camper. They are unable to get the male to come out of the camper.”
Despite the commotion outside, Kloepfer and his wife, Alison Mahler, were asleep in bed. They were stirred awake by the Cherokee Tribal SWAT drone that had been tossed inside the house and was wandering around the camper recording video. At that point, someone outside could be heard telling Kloepfer to come outside with his hands up.
At 4:57 a.m., Kloepfer picked up the drone, carrying it in his right hand when he opened his main door in an apparent attempt to comply with police demands. SWAT members apparently mistook their own drone in Kloepfer’s hand as a weapon and opened fire, wounding Kloepfer but missing Mahler.
Several shots were fired. Kloepfer stumbled backward as Mahler helped pull him back inside the camper.
Kloepfer repeatedly screamed, “I’m shot!” while Mahler yelled, “He’s shot! What the hell did you do?”
Officers shouted for Kloepfer to come out with his hands up, but both he and Mahler shouted that he had been shot. At one point, Mahler told officers that Kloepfer was disabled.
Within two minutes, tribal police officers dragged Kloepfer from the camper as one instructed others to, “Start working on him.”
Minutes later, three Tribal Police officers went back inside the camper, referencing a “secondary sweep.” One officer addressed another, “[Expletive], bro, [expletive].” Another officer quickly responded that “there’s cameras, there’s cameras,” though it is not clear whether he is referring to officer body cameras or Kloepfer’s security cameras.
Just before lunchtime that day, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office sent out a release saying the SWAT unit was requested because an armed person was present and there was a possible hostage situation.
“The suspected shooter engaged in a verbal altercation with officers and emerged from a camper trailer and confronted officers,” leading to the shooting, the release said.
Kloepfer released video on Facebook of the raid from a surveillance camera inside his camper. The online video ends by replaying that exchange between the officers.
“The moment they knew they messed up!” one social media user commented.
The aftermath
Kloepfer, who received hospital treatment for his bullet wounds, said he and his wife have stayed away from their home out of fear of more raids.
“No we are not home,” he posted on Feb. 13. “We probably will never live there again after that nightmare.”
Kloepfer has also made use of a growing audience on his Facebook page to maintain momentum in his ongoing quest for justice. He shared an article from ammoland.com under the headline, “NC Shooting Highlights Dangers of Swatting & ‘Red Flag’ Responses.”
“Check out this NEW article about our case,” Kloepfer commented on his shared link. “One tip is neighbors have called over 10 times in 4 years for fireworks and music. (I was doing nothing illegal.)
“First time calling was at 8:30 p.m. in middle of July in the first 3 weeks of owning property and after giving them our phone number first day of getting property to call if we are ever too loud or a problem. Damn 20-something year old Karen #firingsquad5am.”
He was referring to the neighbor who called 911; Karen is not her name, but rather a slang term often portrayed in memes depicting white women who use their white privilege to demand their own way.
In another example, the police chief in Homerville, Ga., was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation stemming from an incident involving improper evidence handling on Feb. 19. He turned himself in on Feb. 22.
On Feb. 23, Kloepfer posted: “So this police officer is in jail and the damn Cherokee Indian SWAT team officers and Cherokee sheriff officers are still free,” he posted. “Great job Ashley Hornsby Welch (DA Cherokee County, N.C.) for letting criminal, attempted murdering cops still be on the streets. I can’t wait to remind everyone at elections that you are waiting for more evidence that you know is coming in a few weeks before arresting these murdering cops! And this is because you think politics and keeping blue line on your side.
“Wake up! Every law enforcement person in AMERICA, even chief of police in Hiawassee, Ga., is calling for them to be kicked off the force and arrested! What the hell is going on!”
Other than providing copies of the dismissal orders in Kloepfer’s case, Welch’s spokesperson, Quintin Ellison, had no further comment on the case.
“It contains a ‘why’ explanation,” she said about the dismissal orders. “Otherwise, the situation remains under investigation.”
The Cherokee Indian SWAT team has not responded to multiple requests for comment.