Officer justi?ed in shooting Smith

The Archdale police officer who shot and killed junior Courtland Smith was justified in his action because he believed his and another officer’s life to be endangered, Randolph County District Attorney Garland Yates said Friday in a statement.

The release says officer Jeremy Paul Flinchum shot Smith four times after repeatedly asking him to back away and show his hands from behind his back. When Smith repeatedly ignored those requests, approached the officers and quickly drew a black item from behind his back, Flinchum shot.

Smith was not armed, despite his ­earlier comments to a 911 dispatcher that he had a gun. Authorities found a black BlackBerry phone next to the location where he was shot, the release states.

Yates’ decision and the conclusion of the related state investigation brings an end to more than three months of questions about what prompted police to shoot Smith. Information has seeped out from Smith’s family and friends because of a moratorium on details from the State Bureau of Investigation.

“Given the totality of circumstances, Officer Flinchum’s belief that he faced an imminent use of deadly force from Courtland Smith when he fired his service pistol was entirely reasonable,” Yates said in the release.

The report also notes a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey was in Smith’s gray Toyota 4Runner and that he had sent an e-mail to family earlier that night indicating suicidal intent.

An autopsy report found Smith’s blood alcohol level was .22 percent.

Just after 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 23, Flinchum and officer Chris Jones, in separate patrol cars, pulled over Smith’s vehicle on I-85 south near Greensboro. They were notified by Archdale Police Department Communications that Smith was possibly suicidal, intoxicated and armed with a 9 mm handgun.

Smith exited his car about 15 seconds after stopping on the shoulder of the highway. Both officers drew their pistols and gave Smith repeated directions to get back in the car and show his hands as Smith walked toward the officers with one or both of his hands behind his back.

“At one point the officers warned Mr. Smith that because of his actions he was about to get shot,” Yates said in the release.

Both officers retreated behind Jones’ car while giving the commands, the release states. Smith walked backward to his car and leaned into the driver’s side.

As Smith once again advanced on the officers with his hands concealed, Smith and Flinchum retreated further back to Flinchum’s car, attempting to tell Smith “to not do anything stupid, and that they just wanted to talk to him and help him,” the release states.

When Smith quickly drew his right hand from behind his back, holding a black object and standing 10 feet away from the officers, Flinchum fired five shots.

Two fatal gunshot wounds hit Smith’s abdomen. A third gunshot wound in Smith’s upper back appeared to be a ricochet or deflection, according to the N.C. Medical Examiner’s Office. Smith also had a gunshot wound to the left thigh.

Smith was a biology major and president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was last reported seen in Chapel Hill at about 12:30 a.m. at a Delta Kappa Epsilon house party. The party prompted UNC to re-examine its relationship with Greek life and led to several sanctions on the chapter.

Officer Jones has returned to duty. A representative for Archdale police said Friday that Flinchum was still on leave.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.