This article was published in the 2009 Year in Review issue of The Daily Tar Heel.

The death of junior Courtland Smith in August resulted in more than three months of questions about what led to police shooting him 40 minutes from Chapel Hill.

A report released Friday by Randolph County District Attorney Garland Yates provides many details into Smith’s interaction with the two Archdale police officers. In the release, Yates also said he found officer Jeremy Paul Flinchum was justified in shooting Smith because Flinchum believed his and another officer’s life to be endangered.

The Archdale police officer who shot and killed junior Courtland Smith was justified in his action because he believed his and another officer's life to be endangered, Randolph County District Attorney Garland Yates said today in a statement.

References to a history of suicidal thoughts and alcoholism have been removed from the autopsy report for junior Courtland Smith.

The redaction of some details — which are crossed out in the new report but still readable — has appeased Smith’s family and friends, who voiced concerns about the accuracy of some medical information presented in the report.

It is still unclear why the medical information was originally included.

Junior Courtland Smith died of four gunshot wounds to the abdomen, thigh, upper back and arm, according to an autopsy released today. 

Smith, 21, was shot by Archdale police on Aug. 23 after he made a “suggestive move to his pocket which the police interpreted as a move to get a gun,” according to the report of investigation by the N.C. medical examiner. The report does not say whether Smith was actually armed with a weapon.

UNC administrators say they have left it to the Greeks’ system of self-governance to make an initial determination on whether a party at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house violated UNC and Greek policies.

While alcohol-related fraternity violations are not uncommon — and the University usually leaves it up to the Greek system to investigate incidents and determine punishment — the Aug. 22 party has received an unusual emphasis because of the circumstances around it.

The examination of the University’s relationship with the Greek community, spurred by the death of a fraternity president last week, is bringing to light a long-standing tension between the two groups.

Administrators and fraternity members said the fundamental nature of the Greek system — part of the University yet distinctly separate — occasionally puts the two groups at odds.

The Greek organizations are inherently tied to the University as registered campus groups, but they are also independent as private off-campus residences.