Fatal officer-involved shooting in Macon leads to community backlash

FRANKLIN - Family and friends of a man shot to death by a sheriff's deputy plan to rally at noon Tuesday in front of the Macon County Courthouse to call attention to the incident.

Accounts from family members of Michael Scott Knibbs, 47, differ from comments made by Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland, who said the deputy acted as he had to.

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is investigating. The deputy, who has not been named, has been placed on paid leave.

Sheriff's account of shooting

The April 30 shooting happened after the deputy was called to a home on Pheasant Road just before midnight for a dispute between neighbors over boards with nails placed on a driveway, blocking a neighbor’s exit, Holland said in a post on the sheriff's office Facebook page.

"While conducting the investigation, a Macon County deputy was confronted by an armed suspect,” Holland wrote in the post.

“The deputy gave repeated commands to drop the weapon. The suspect took aggressive action toward the deputy, prompting the deputy to discharge his weapon in self-defense, which struck and killed the suspect," Holland wrote.

The sheriff's post drew hundreds of comments in support of Knibbs and questioning whether the shooting was warranted. It since has been taken down.

Holland said he could not comment further because the shooting is under SBI investigation.

Family account of incident differs from sheriff's

The sheriff's version of events conflicts with the accounts of Missy Knibbs and the couple's 22-year-old daughter, Megan. Both were in the house at the time. Knibbs' 13-year-old son and 5-month-old grandson were also in the home.

Scott Knibbs had gotten out of bed after hearing shouting and was on his way to the front door with a shotgun when the deputy shot him four times from outside the home, Knibbs' attorney, Mark Melrose, said in a statement.

"Earlier that evening, Scott told a man who had pulled into the Knibbs' driveway looking for a house party next door to leave and not return," Melrose said in the statement. "Around midnight, a man's voice was heard yelling from the front of their home."

Melrose said the family saw no patrol car with flashing lights in front of the house and said there was no advanced warning that someone from the sheriff's office was approaching their home.

"Scott was concerned for the safety of his family and retrieved the shotgun he kept in the bedroom for self-defense," Melrose said. "Seconds later the deputy fired multiple shots from outside the Knibbs home, through a front window, striking Scott. He never had a chance to open the front door or talk to the officer."

Melrose said the deputy was in his first year on the job and was alone.

Holland did not respond to requests for comment on the deputy's length of service.

"We want to understand why an unverified, middle-of-the-night complaint by a neighbor resulted in a rookie officer demanding entry into the Knibbs home unannounced," Melrose said. "We want to understand why the officer had his weapon out and learn what urgency existed for a solo deputy to investigate a neighbor's complaint in the middle of the night."

Mixed emotions at Knibbs' funeral

At Knibbs' funeral on Saturday, there were mixed emotions of sadness and anger.

Despite many family and friends sharing positive memories of Knibbs, the lingering questions of doubt could be heard in low murmurs throughout the ceremony and as people mingled afterwards on the lawn of Cullasaja Assembly of God, where Knibbs attended church for 25 years.

Knibbs had also gone through law enforcement training, and graduated in May 1994.

"He owned a local tree company and would go out of state to help with hurricane restoration work and volunteered at the church," said Don Smith, who used to ride motorcycles with Knibbs. Smith said he had known Knibbs for 15 years.

"We all have firearms and live in the country and that deputy made a huge mistake. They should be apologizing to the family instead of backing the officer who made a terrible, poor choice," Smith said.

At the funeral, Smith was teary-eyed and holding a child in his arms while talking abut the shooting.

Father speaks out about Scott's death

Michael Knibbs, Scott's father, spoke last at the funeral.

After sharing childhood memories, Michael Knibbs went on to express his mixed emotions over the death of his son.

He said that if the deputy would have just given Scott a chance, he could have walked away from the situation with a new friend, instead of a dead man.

"Scott was able to be friends with everyone and I know in my heart that if it went differently, Scott would have invited him in and they would have been friends," he said through tears. "I don't want bitterness about this situation to take over the wonderful man who Scott was."

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