Family demands justice after North Carolina police officer fatally shoots man

HICKORY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — “This case really just boils down to law enforcement officers shooting a gentleman who was running away from them and was unarmed at the time,” said Anthony Burts, the Setzer family attorney. 

Timothy Craig Setzer was shot and killed by a Hickory police officer in August 2023. His mother, Christina Tolley, is still getting used to not having her son by her side.

Now, she’s looking for the officers involved to be held accountable.

“The narrative was that Mr. Setzer reached for his waistband and pulled out a gun. But the objective investigation that was conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation reveals that, unequivocally, Mr. Setzer was unarmed at the time that he was shot. So we filed a lawsuit,” Burts said. 

The lawsuit alleges that a Hickory officer fired his gun from the passenger seat of a moving patrol car — at a distance of 50 to 60 feet, hitting Setzer, who was 27. Attorneys say officers fired about 30 rounds at an unarmed Setzer, who was running and had his back to them.

“We also have reviewed interviews from the State Bureau investigation whereby those officers that fired their weapons acknowledged that they continued to shoot their guns until he stopped moving based on no perceived threat,” Burts said. “And the autopsy reveals that there was a gunshot to the top of Mr. Seltzer’s head. And there’s no way for an individual to be shot at the top of their head unless someone’s shooting down on them or as they collapse into the ground or on the ground.”

Officers involved say Setzer appeared to pull a gun from his waistband. Attorneys claim body camera footage and sworn statements to the North Carolina state investigator cited in the complaint show multiple officers admitting they did not see a gun in Setzer’s hands.

Also, no firearm was ever recovered at the scene until nine hours later by an SBI agent, but no forensic evidence linked it to Setzer.

“He wasn’t the type of person to pull a gun on cops. He was a good person. He was kindhearted. He was just special,” Tolley said. 

The family is looking for accountability and transparency. They are hoping no other family has to experience losing a loved one tragically, the way his life was taken. 

Queen City News reached out to the city and the Hickory Police Department twice for comment, and neither responded.  

Source: Fox 8 News Channel