Randolph County District Attorney Garland N. Yates said in a signed letter that Officer Jeremy Paul Flinchum’s actions of shooting 21-year-old Courtland Smith were “justified under the circumstances and well within the bounds of North Carolina law governing the use of deadly force.”
“It is clear from all the evidence that Officer J.P. Flinchum reasonably believed that he and Officer (D.) Jones were in imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury when (Flinchum) shot Courtland Smith,” Yates said.
On Aug. 23, Smith, a UNC-Chapel Hill fraternity president, was stopped on Interstate 85 in Randolph County by two Archdale police officers. Before being stopped by police, Smith had called 911 asking for police assistance and telling a dispatcher he was suicidal, armed with a 9 mm pistol and driving drunk at speeds of up to 110 mph.
According to the district attorney’s findings, both officers had been notified by communications operators that the driver was armed with a 9mm pistol and possibly suicidal.
“Mr. Smith aggressively advanced to the officers, forcing them to retreat to the rear of their patrol cars twice,” Yates said. “He ignored the officers’ repeated and clear orders to stop advancing on them and to show his hands. It was reasonable for officers Jones and Flinchum to assume from Mr. Smith’s actions that he was concealing a weapon behind his back.
“Finally, Officer Flinchum only fired on Courtland Smith when he suddenly drew his hand from behind his back while holding a black object.”
Yates said N.C. State Bureau of Investigation agents revealed a black Blackberry type cellular phone next to where Smith fell after being shot. A search of Smith’s vehicle revealed a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels brand whiskey, Yates said, adding that subsequent investigation revealed that in the time not long before this incident, Smith had sent an e-mail to family members indicating suicidal intent.
Smith’s parents, Pharr and Susan Smith, could not be reached by The High Point Enterprise at their Houston, Texas, home Friday afternoon. A woman who answered the phone said the Smiths were out of the country.
Darrell Gibbs, Archdale’s police chief, said Friday that Flinchum would return to work, but a specific date hasn’t been set. As part of standard procedure, Flinchum has been on paid leave as the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation investigated the incident.
dignasiak@hpe.com 888-3657
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