APD releases official statement on shooting of burglary suspect

Full announcement from the Asheville Police Department:

Asheville – On September 29, 2013, at approximately 7:30 AM, APD officers were dispatched to a location in West Asheville regarding a burglary in progress. The suspect from the burglary fled the residence and APD officers gave chase.

During the prolonged foot chase, the suspect was seen running with a gun in his hand near the Meadows Apartments. The suspect was confronted on New Leicester Highway where he refused to comply with multiple commands from APD officers. He was shot by an APD officer and later died at the hospital. During the course of the investigation a handgun was recovered. The suspect has been identified as Alexander Jamar Marion, 19, of Asheville.

The victim from the original burglary call was uninjured. No APD officers were injured.

As standard protocol with any officer involved shooting, the NCSBI is conducting the shooting investigation and the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. As per standard procedure, an internal investigation will also be conducted by the Asheville Police Department. Chief Anderson stated, “We appreciate the seriousness of the situation our officers were confronted with today. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by today’s events”.

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5 thoughts on “APD releases official statement on shooting of burglary suspect

  1. Please clarify (do your job)

    What does “During the course of the investigation a handgun was recovered” mean?

    My thoughts go out to this young man’s family and friends. This is very, very sad news.

  2. Big Al

    “What does “During the course of the investigation a handgun was recovered” mean?”

    It is a standard preemptive response to the inevitable questions by police critics: “Was there really a gun, or did the cops overreact and shoot an unarmed man?”

  3. public servant

    The problem with this unfortunate event is the story keeps changing. At first the suspect fired at the officers; next it changed to he pointed the gun at officers; third was he had a gun, and did not comply with commands to drop it; now a gun was merely found during the course of the investigation. APD can’t seem to stay out of its own way. This does not help with community trust and confidence building for this troubled agency. Hopefully the SBI will get to the truth about why the suspect was shot dead.

  4. Inquiring Mind

    What was the alleged suspect doing while “multiple commands” were given given by APD officers?

    According to the article, “APD officers”, plural, gave the alleged suspect commands to comply, but only one officer fired. What did that officer see and hear that other officers did not that prompted his deadly fire?

    WHY was it necessary to shoot the alleged suspect IN THE FACE?

    How soon will the officer who killed the alleged suspect be back at work, back on the streets, and back behind an APD police badge?

  5. boatrocker

    Sorry to break this news, but the American military and police force (purposely not capitalized) follows their own agenda.

    Forget that pesky Constitution.

    It’s called money and power.

    Thank you for not serving.

    Dissent = Real American values.
    aka no blood for oil.

    Too bad nobody remembers the Roman idea of
    “Who guards the guards?” ala The 2002
    Patriot Act.

    It’s now called the Blue Wall of Silence, the Police State, and the Camouflaged Wall of Secrets
    -(GOP) Nixon started it, not some new-school guy with a funny African name.

    Funny how some people swallowed the poison before
    2008 and they now complain about it.
    How convenient.

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