FAYETTEVILLE — The independent review of a detective’s fatal shooting of a robbery suspect has been forwarded to the Washington County prosecutor, officials said Tuesday.
Investigators with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the Dec. 1 shooting of Matthew Andersen by Fayetteville police Detective David Williams.
Prosecuting Attorney John Threet will review the report to determine if Williams broke any laws. A ruling won’t come this week, but shouldn’t take any more than two weeks, Threet said Tuesday.
Williams was one of four officers responding to a bank holdup call at the Arvest branch on the corner of Wedington Drive and Garland Avenue. Andersen, 29, of Elkins, was in his car in the drive-through and passed the teller a note demanding money, according to police reports.
Williams pulled in front of Andersen, who reversed and rammed a car behind him in an attempt to escape, according to incident reports.
Williams fired three .40 caliber rounds from his department-issued handgun. At least one hit Andersen, who died later that day at a local hospital.
All police-involved shootings are reviewed both within the department and by an outside law enforcement agency.
An internal review by Fayetteville police concluded Williams acted in accordance with department use-of-force policies. He returned to work a week after the shooting.
While the Sheriff’s Office investigation focuses on potential criminal wrongdoing rather than policy violations, there’s no reason to believe Williams will face any charges, said Fayetteville Police Chief Greg Tabor.
“I’m sure it’s a lengthy report, because there are so many things involved,” Tabor said. “A lot of agencies, including the Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and our own people, were looking at different aspects of it.”
None of the other officers on the scene fired shots.