(TargetLiberty.org) – On Tuesday prosecutors argued that the North Carolina state trooper who had fatally shot an armed suspect in a traffic stop had been justified to do so as the suspect had fired at him first. The trooper was saved by the ballistic vest he was wearing.
The incident took place on July 3, at around 7:30 p.m. At the time, Jeffrey L. Dunlap, a North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper, was trying to hold a motorist who had gotten stranded on Interstate 26. However, he ended up getting shot in the chest during the altercation.
Todd Williams, the Buncombe County District Attorney, argued that after looking through the police dashcam footage from the shooting, he had determined that Dunlap was cleared of any wrongdoing and that there would not be any criminal charges filed.
The North Carolina Bureau of Investigation also closed the probe into the incident, and the family of the suspect had been informed of the findings and decision. During the altercation, Wesley Scott Taylor reportedly used a .44 magnum pistol to fire at Dunlap.
Williams revealed that the round that Taylor had fired was not fatal because Dunlap’s ballistic vest blocked the shot. Dunlap then proceeded to fire at Taylor, 57. His shots were fatal and Taylor died on the scene.
Dunlap had first been taken to the hospital where they checked him for the incident before he was placed on administrative leave as a result of the incident. This is standard protocol for such cases, as it allows the State Bureau of Investigation to carry out an investigation of the incident.
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