Family fights for answers in Windsor officer-involved shooting

WINDSOR, N.C. (WITN) - The family of a woman who was shot by a Windsor Police officer is frustrated with the lack of transparency from the department.

You’ll remember a woman was shot by Windsor police back in March. Family members said Ashley Cheri was at Cashie Apartments visiting her father at the time.

Police said they were called there for a criminal trespasser. When they got there, police said a woman was holding a knife. An officer shot Cheri in the stomach.

Her sister Alexia Johnson feels there’s more to the story. She has tried requesting the body cam video but was told by the SBI that Windsor Police say their body cameras were off.

She has also requested a police report but says she was told it’s not available. Still, she says, she won’t back down.

“We are not letting up on this at all, so everybody’s here. Everybody’s ready for whatever’s next to come. We just want answers. We want footage. Whether or not that happens, we’re still going the extra mile because this is not going to end here,” Johnson explained.

The officer who fired the shot is on paid administrative leave. Johnson feels they should no longer be on the force.

“I feel like he should definitely be fired, for sure. Mostly definitely, because she didn’t die, thank God, but who’s to say you’re in a situation like this again, and it won’t happen again and this person ends up passing away?” she said. “Like, that’s a huge loss for their family.”

Johnson also feels it wasn’t necessary to use the level of force the officer used against Cheri.

“You didn’t have to shoot her. You could have maced her, you could have tased her, you could have done any of those things, but you chose to shoot her,” she said. “This is a 22-year-old girl. Ashley looks like a middle schooler, you know. You gotta think about it like that, think about it being your child in that situation. Would you want somebody to do that?”

Cheri is still recovering at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville.

Meanwhile, the case has been handed over to the State Bureau of Investigation. WITN reached out to them yesterday for more details, but they say they’re still looking into it, and once they’re done, it’ll go to the district attorney for review. It could be a while before we get any more information.

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