The district attorney has determined that officers were justified in the fatal shooting of a man who confronted emergency personnel with an ax outside a burning home in Pinehurst in 2025.
Officers with the Pinehurst Police Department were cleared in the March 19 shooting of 37-year-old Sawyer Felton Frye following a review by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the 29th Prosecutorial District.
In a letter issued Monday, District Attorney Michael Hardin said the investigation found officers reasonably believed there was an imminent threat to the lives of officers and firefighters at the scene.
Police and firefighters were initially dispatched the morning of March 19 to the area of Gun Club Drive in Pinehurst and later responded to a structure fire at 11 Remington Lane.
According to the district attorney’s review, officers encountered Frye as he exited the burning residence carrying a firefighter’s ax that had been left near the front of the home. Officers repeatedly ordered Frye to drop the ax, but he did not respond to their commands.
An officer attempted to subdue Frye using a TASER, but he continued to act aggressively and approached officers while still holding the ax. Officers again ordered him to drop the weapon before firing several shots, striking him.
Frye was transported to a nearby medical facility, where he later died from his injuries.
Hardin said his office reviewed officer and firefighter interviews, body camera footage, and the autopsy report as part of the investigation.
“After reviewing all interviews from police officers and firefighters on scene, body camera footage, and the autopsy, I have concluded that all evidence presented in this case supports a reasonable belief by officers that there was an imminent fear for the life and safety of officers and firefighters on scene and the use of deadly force was reasonable,” Hardin wrote.
The SBI conducted the independent investigation at the request of the Pinehurst Police Department, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings in North Carolina.
Frye’s identity was previously confirmed by investigators following the incident.
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Feature photo by Sandhills Sentinel reporter Melissa Schaub.
