Bear Paw – A Murphy man was wounded in an officer-involved shooting Dec. 12 during an incident that had “an armed suspect present and the potential for a hostage situation,” according to information provided by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Jason Harley Kloepfer, 41, has been charged with communicating threats, and resist, obstruct, and delay. The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is now investigating the case.
“There were some threats to the neighborhood, threats to law enforcement, and then shots had been fired,” Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith said. “They were in the home and not responding to law enforcement at that point.”
Smith said Kloepfer had been involved in “previous encounters with law enforcement.”
Cherokee County E911 Communications received a call at about 11 p.m. indicating a disturbance with several gun shots fired at 1790 Upper Bear Paw Road. Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene about 11:17 p.m., but they were unable to make contact with the alleged shooter.
The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant and requested assistance from the Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT team.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the capability of a tactical team right now,” Smith said. “Anytime
we sit down and look at a situation where it could be a possible standoff or something like that, we look to another agency that is trained in handling that. That is what guides us in a situation like that.”
According to a sheriff’s office release, the suspected shooter engaged in a verbal altercation with officers and emerged from a camper and confronted officers. Members of the Cherokee Indian Police SWAT Team fired at him, wounding him.
“Since it was Tribal Police involved with it, I can’t speak more into that situation,” Smith said. “We will do an internal review of our office and our decision making, but as far as the shooting, the SBI will do an investigation and the Tribal Police will do an internal investigation into their incident also.”
The man was transported to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was last reported to be in stable condition.