Man dead after taking shots at Franklin officers
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is conducting an investigation after a man was killed during a June 30 altercation with two Franklin police officers.
In a recent press conference, Franklin Police Chief David Adams said officers had to defend themselves with their own weapons when Clay Alan Lickteig, 52, pulled a firearm and began shooting at the two Franklin officers.
“I think (the taser) was initially successful, but I don’t know at what point it failed to keep working so they had to use firearms to defend their lives,” Adams said.
The two officers, whose names haven’t yet been released, were attempting to serve a felony probation warrant on Lickteig about 9:30 p.m. at a residence in Woodland Hills. Adams said Lickteig was in the driveway of the residence when officers arrived. Officers asked him to show his hands and when he allegedly failed to comply, one of the officers deployed a taser. Adams said Lickteig then pulled out a pistol and shot at the officers.
“Officers returned fire and Lickteig died on the scene,” Adams said.
Adams said Lickteig, whose last known address was in Hayesville, has had a history of arrests in Macon County over the last year. According to arrest reports, Lickteig has been arrested on multiple drug charges and was currently serving 24 months of supervised probation.
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One of the officers was slightly injured during the altercation and was treated at Angel Medical Center in Franklin before being released. Adams said the officer was not injured by a gunshot.
Adams said Lickteig’s next of kin — his children — were notified and an autopsy was scheduled for July 2. As of press time, the autopsy report had not been released by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. Adams said the names of the officers involved wouldn’t be released until the autopsy results were released. Both officers are on paid administrative leave while the SBI investigation is under way, which is standard protocol in officer involved shootings. When asked if the officers followed the correct procedures, Adams said it appeared that they did.
“Everything looks good so far, but we’ll get more information from the SBI investigation,” he said.
But there are still many unanswered questions. Adams said he didn’t know how many times officers deployed their tasers, how many shots were fired by either party or what caliber gun Lickteig possessed.
