Allison Mahler and Jason Harley Kloepfer
Murphy – A settlement was reached in a federal civil lawsuit over the Dec. 13, 2022, SWAT raid in Bear Paw that nearly killed an unarmed man as he attempted to comply with verbal commands from SWAT team members.
The lawsuit, Kloepfer & Mahler v. Sheriff Dustin Smith, et al., filed by Jason Harley Kloepfer and Allison Mahler, was settled for $10 million. Of that, $5 million comes from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, whose SWAT team conducted the raid, and $5 million comes from Cherokee County, whose sheriff's office requested the SWAT team's assistance. Cherokee County's insurance carrier is covering its portion of the settlement, less a $5,000 deductible the county paid shortly after the case was filed, according to a statement released this morning from Cherokee County Government.
Cherokee County commissioners were informed about the settlement by litigation counsel Sean Perrin in closed session during Tuesday night's board meeting in Murphy.
Since the settlement did not involve the expenditure of further county funds, the board of commissioners was not required to approve the
settlement, according to the statement. The settlement will be reported to the U.S. District Court in Asheville, where the suit was filed, within 45 days.
Kloepfer, a 41-year-old man at the time, was shot on early morning Dec. 13, 2022, by the Cherokee Tribal Police SWAT team at his home in Bear Paw. He survived and in January 2023 released surveillance video recorded inside his home that showed events that differed from accounts of the shooting given by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office that claimed Kloepfer engaged in a "verbal altercation with officers" and "confronted officers."
The video showed that Kloepfer was stirred from bed by commands amplified by a loudspeaker coming from outside his home, as well as a small drone the SWAT team had tossed through a window. Shirtless, he picked up the drone and with his arms raised as per police instructions, Kloepfer opened his front door and was met by a volley of fire from some SWAT team members, severely wounding him.
Kloepfer was charged with communicating threats, as well as resist, obstruct and delay, but these charges were dropped by March 2023. Mahler, who was also in the line of fire, escaped injury but was taken into custody until she was released later that morning. No charges were filed against her.
Kloepfer, when contacted by the Scout this morning, said he would have a statement later today.
This is breaking news. More details will be added as they become available.