No Criminal Charges Against Officers Involved in Home Shooting Incident of 2022 in Cherokee County
Cherokee County, NC: A special prosecutor has determined that none of the officers or deputies involved in the 2022 police shooting at Jason Harley Kloepfer’s home in Cherokee County will face criminal charges.
On December 13, 2022, a shooting occurred following a 911 call from a neighbor expressing concern about Jason Harley Kloepfer, aged 41, potentially harming his wife, Alison Mahler, and making threats against the area. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office asked for help from the Cherokee Indian Police Department’s SWAT squad due to a possible hostage situation. The SWAT team arrived in the early morning.
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Kloepfer was injured by at least two rounds when three CIPD policemen shot at him, with Mahler standing right behind him, just before 5 a.m. An injury penetrated his chest, damaging his liver, stomach, heart lining, ribs, and causing shrapnel to scatter in his chest. A second bullet hit slightly above his elbow, causing significant damage to his flesh and muscle, as stated in a complaint he filed in June.
Following the shooting, the CCSO stated that the officers opened fire when Kloepfer engaged in a “verbal altercation” with them and confronted them as he exited his camper trailer. He was accused with two offenses.
Kloepfer later published home surveillance footage showing him approaching the door with his hands raised, following police instructions. Gunshots were heard shortly after. The charges were dismissed shortly after the video was made public.
The policemen who discharged their weapons stated in their replies to the complaint that they did so because they thought the police robot Kloepfer was holding over his head in his right hand, which had been deployed inside to evaluate the situation, was a firearm.
In June, Kloepfer initiated a lawsuit requesting millions in damages, alleging that officers had infringed upon his constitutional rights prior to the first shot being discharged. The initial cops arrived at his residence at 11:17 p.m. but found no proof of the reported hostage crisis and lacked a search warrant to conduct a thorough investigation.
They stayed on the property for hours, disabling Kloepfer’s outdoor CCTV cameras just after midnight, before a search warrant was issued at 2:14 a.m. The lawsuit alleges that this action infringed upon his Fourth Amendment right to be protected against excessive search and seizure.
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The action, scheduled for trial in August 2025, involves 29 defendants from the EBCI and CCSO facing almost 200 claims. After Sigmon’s decision, none of the defendants will face criminal charges for their activities.
