Abigail Margulis

amargulis@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE – A chase ended with a city police officer fatally shooting a 35-year-old man Saturday evening at the entrance to the Deaverview Apartment complex, a police spokesperson said.

Police identified the victim as Jai Lateef Solveig Williams, of Asheville.

Sgt. Tyler Radford, who has been with the department for eight years, fired the fatal shots, according to police spokeswoman Christina Hallingse. He has been placed on paid administrative leave pending results of an investigation, she said.

Several residents witnessed the incident, which took place shortly after 7 p.m.

“They straight up killed that boy,” said resident Antoinette Hix. “It was unbelievable.”

Hix, who lives near the back of the apartment complex, said she ran up to the entrance when she heard what she thought were fireworks. She said she heard six to seven shots. When she came to the front of the complex, she saw a man lying in the road covered in blood, she said.

“It was terrible,” Hix said. “I knew that boy … He was lying there dead, and I knew he was not getting up. I wanted him to get up, but he was unable.”

Another resident, Karen Nunn, watched the situation unfold from her front door, about 30 feet away from where the man was shot.

“A guy pulled in and he was beating on a girl,” she said. “An officer told him to get out of the car and put his hands up about four to five times. He didn’t do that.”

The man and woman got out of the car, Nunn said, adding that he kept hitting her with his fist, but he didn’t have a gun. Then, she said, the man stopped, faced the police officer and put his hands in the air.

“He surrendered and the cop shot him six times,” she said. “I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. It was devastating.”

Police initially responded to a “shots fired” report around 7 p.m. at Pisgah View Apartments; the shots were reported as coming from a white vehicle, according to Hallingse. Officers responded to the area, where they located the suspect and the vehicle.

Officers attempted to stop the driver, but he fled and a chase ensued, according to police.

During the pursuit, officers witnessed "what appeared to be a female struggling in the vehicle and attempting to get out," said Lt. Gary Gudac with Asheville Police. "It looked like she was fighting with the driver."

Two other passengers were in the backseat, according to authorities.

Williams came to a stop near a curb at the entrance to Deaverview Apartments. An officer issued commands to Williams but he didn’t listen, Gudac said.

“(He) displayed a gun, at which time an officer used deadly force,” he said. “The officer was in fear for his life.”

Residents who witnessed the shooting disagreed.

“The police should have used a different method,” Nunn said. “The officer stood and watched him beat on that girl for about two minutes. They should have come up behind him and gotten him off of her or shot him in the leg. He didn’t deserve that.”

Hix said she felt like the police “screwed up.”

“Those cops were mean and killed him,” she said. “I live in the projects and saw that boy dead. He was lying there for over an hour in the street. That could have been my son. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t want to live here anymore.”

After the shooting happened, a nearby resident, Calvin Burton, came by to talk to people about what happened.

“We need to get together and write a petition,” he said Sunday morning where a group of about five residents gathered. “We need to tell the truth of what we saw. What the police did isn’t right.”

Williams had lived in Deaverview Apartments, according to several residents.

The woman in the car with him was pregnant with his child, her mother said on Saturday.

"My daughter left my apartment with this man," Deaverview resident Tasha Norman said. "He was driving her and I get a call 15 minutes ago saying that he was shot by the police."

Police said no other passengers in the vehicle were injured.

The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting an investigation into the incident. APD's Professional Standards Division is also conducting an internal investigation to determine if policies were followed, she added.

The Asheville Police Department has a written policy on officer protocol when it comes to officer-involved shootings and it will be released at a later time, according to Hallingse.

"Everything remains under investigation," she said.

An autopsy will be scheduled for the body sometime this week, Hallingse said.

Officer-involved shooting at Deaverview leaves one dead

Victim identified in officer-involved shooting fatality