The shocking video referenced below can be found in this article: “Press Covers for North Carolina Sheriff’s ‘Firing Squad’.”
U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Please share the hell out of this!!! We are alive and healing, thank God!!” Jason Kloepfer posted on his Facebook page on January 18th, 2023. The “this” in question was a video on December’s joint Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department/Cherokee County Indian Police SWAT raid on his trailer, reported last month on AmmoLand News, when cops opened fire on Kloepfer and his wife, followed by gruesome photos of the damage their hail of bullets did to the North Carolina man’s torso.
It’s a miracle he survived. It’s a miracle she survived, too, since she was standing behind him. It would seem Jeff Cooper’s Rule IV (“Know what [your target] is, what is in line with it, and what is behind it”) was not a priority during the 5 a.m. raid.
“I am physically doing better, mentally me an Ali ain’t so good on this one,” Kloepfer wrote in a January 20 follow-up post. “We are out of state for fear of our lives since I got out of the hospital. I can’t talk too much about details right now as this is [a] major, major case still evolving. But like I said 5 weeks ago, trust me the news is completely wrong and so are my charges.”
For his part, the Cherokee County Sheriff appears to have gone silent on Facebook following a January 20th, 2023, excuse-making and finger-pointing post that has not gone over well with those reading it. He and his chief deputy weren’t on the scene. He says he didn’t see the video until January 18th, 2023. It wasn’t him who prepared the press release put out under his authority claiming Kloepfer, “charged with Communicating Threats and Resist, Obstruct, and Delay,” engaged in a verbal altercation and confronted officers.
It was the county attorney, relying on information provided by the Cherokee County Indian Police. And it was their SWAT team that did the shooting. The Sherrif had to call them in because he doesn’t have one, so he’s going to ask for funds to get one.
And of relevance, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners “quickly tabled” a resolution opposing funding of SWAT.
Left unanswered in the sheriff’s attempt to absolve himself of responsibility & blame everyone else are some key questions:
- Why weren’t you or your chief deputy on the scene for a SWAT action?
- Why was there such an extended wait between the supposed call that prompted initial contact and the active intervention if it was believed a hostage’s life was at stake? How is it that the “suspect” was allowed to go to sleep apparently unaware there were police outside his door?
- Will the call that prompted a response in the first place be released? Is the recording of it secure?
- Some are making excuses that police opened fire because Kloepfer held their robot in one hand, and they mistook it for a gun. Did the robot have a camera, was it being monitored and didn’t its operator see he picked it up and tell the others?
- Did police responders wear bodycams? What did they record?
- With a man shot and with all the legal implications, how is it that the sheriff and his chief deputy can claim ignorance of the video (and by implication, bodycam evidence) until it was brought to his attention by public outcry?
For its part, the Cherokee Indian Police Department is keeping mum. So is the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, reported by some sources to be investigating the incident, but so far unresponsive to the “tip” I sent.
@SBI1937 In the spirit of “If you see something say something”: https://t.co/uzNkYaiVVf
— dcodrea (@dcodrea) January 21, 2023
Speaking of other journalistic news reports, since AmmoLand News published its article about the shooting on January 19th, 2023, some “mainstream news” outlets have followed suit, notably UK’s Independent, The New York Post, and some local news affiliates. Still, and totally expectedly considering the way they have traditionally acted as gatekeepers for what information the American public should be provided with, there is nothing about this story at this writing on outlets like CNN, The New York Times, or any of the major players using the search terms “Kloepfer” or “Cherokee County Sheriff.”
A SWAT team firing on an unarmed man with his hands in the air isn’t newsworthy?
A search for the same terms using the Google News search tab confirms the media influence giants have no interest in treating this as reportable. It’s hardly the first time they’ve been deliberately indifferent to documented exposés alleging major government abuses.
And speaking of interest in reporting, at this writing, there’s a reasonably comprehensive summary of the story so far at Wikipedia, with a caveat notation that should concern all who are interested in not seeing this buried:
“This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia’s deletion policy.”
That information would be purposely omitted is hardly surprising, especially when attempts to update origin documentation on other important stories have been deliberately edited out. So far, none of the stories published by “regular” media have credited the one source none of us would have any information on this without, DRenegade.
Noting that once more, there appears to be no interest by major news media to bring this story to the attention of the public; it’s again up to concerned citizens and citizen journalists to push the information through and demand investigations that can’t be ignored.
And a few of the questions raised here have been answered. Coming up in the next report, AmmoLand Shooting Sports News has obtained a copy of the police dispatch recording and the Calls for Service (CFS) report.
And those, as you’ll see, raise plenty more questions. Like why does Kloepfer say he still fears for his life?
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
“A SWAT team firing on an unarmed man with his hands in the air isn’t newsworthy?”
Man is black? No? Sorry, no checkbox, and no riot in your honor.
This is a clear example of why Police are under attack all over the U.S. and it is the leadership like this Sheriff who causes my police friend’s to be in harm’s way.
SWAT team my ass. Sounds like the Keystone Cops, only with less training. SWAT team members are supposed to be the cream of the crop, with loads of training. A real SWAT team would not have put themselves in this situation. Bad tactics, bad execution of a game plan, poor leadership. Just because you have fancy SWAT team tools, doesn’t make you a SWAT team, It’s the training, very intense training,
They should not have fired a single round. Once they did shoot, their accuracy was horrible. Not one single “good cop” stepped forward.
Remember that time America thought lowering and/or removing standards was a good thing?
That is most definitely part of the problem, why you received a “Thumbs down” I do not know. This started first with fire depts. to me more shall we say inclusive, when it was nothing but an extension of “Affirmative Action.”
Many years ago, I went and took the written exam for a position on a PD. The test was given at the local Community College in the cafeteria. The place was full of people. Only a handful of people passed that test I was one of them, I even got an interview, but not the job.
I received a thumbs down because someone knows they wouldn’t make the standards of the past regardless of what job it is. I’m not here to receive likes so it’s of no consequence and I believe in the right to vocalize opinions even when they are wrong.
Tactical Teams, the subject at hand, used to be the best and only if they qualified. Now it’s the good ole boy or diversity squad.
The same things happened in the military and every other job I’m aware of.
Thanks, David, I’m going to push this out to some Washington State Indian buddies of mine, maybe if all of us everywhere sends this to 5 people…
I saw the video. The “police” were a very poor ASSASSINATION SQUAD. They FAILED to extinguish their objectives. Like the 5 “police” that beat a man to death. STILL NO EXPLANATIONS!! Everyone of these “police” who were involved MUST FACE a TRUE EQUAL JUSTICE for the harmed!
There was absolutely no excuse for the “swat” team to open fire on this man. That being said, the victim here also made a serious error by not having his hands empty when confronting the cops. But whether his hands were empty or not, shooting the “subject” should be a last resort, not a first instinct. I’m sure that Jason’s judgement and reasoning were somewhat impaired, considering the circumstances, so he can’t really be blamed for what happened. Still, this video might reinforce the idea that “hands up” should also mean “hands empty”. But whether his hands were empty or… Read more »
Look up the dimensions of there throw bot. It is impossible to be mistaken for a gun. Especially when a swat team member is operating it with live video n audio. Plus they were almost 90° to the right of me. I wasn’t even facing them. I was truly clueless of why they were there when I woke up nor would I ever think that swat team or any team of police would ever be outside my home with guns at my front door.
You should know everything you need to know about this when you hear the surprise and fear in the government thug’s voices when they discover there are cameras in the home and their actions have been recorded. Where are all of those “good cops” we keep hearing about?
One reason this is not getting as much coverage as it should is the victim in this case is a white person, in the eyes of the media white people count for nothing. This is a man that should file several lawsuits because of what was done to him and his wife, neither the police nor the swat team had the right info on this. As soon as they saw him they opened fire, this was the wrong thing to do. The problem is when it comes to white people the police open fire first then stop to see what… Read more »
as messed up as this is, i can’t wait for your next article with more details. that these “only ones” screwed up this bad and are attempting to mislead the public is nothing new, we have seen it in the past. unless and until ALL of the questions that have been raised have been truthfully answered and ALL communications have been released none of these law enforcement officers should have a moments peace.
no leo shooting should be investigated by another leo agency. there should only be minimal involvement by leo’s, such as to provide policies and procedures information.
Here is what is really going on after shooting me. This is believed to be 1st of 3 murdering swat team shooters on vacation in Cayman islands after release of video.
Mr Codrea, thank you for keeping us posted on this case! Please continue to do so! I do not blame this couple for getting “out of state”. Sounds like given the corruption and cover-up in this case, literally anything could happen to them. Let’s keep them and their safety in our prayers.
Thank you!!!