BY MIKE FUHRMAN

Statesville Police Department Cpl. Casey Hoover was honored on Monday for the courage, resilience and commitment to duty that he displayed when he was shot in the line of duty on April 29, 2024.

Cpl. Hoover was among the officers who came under fire as U.S. Marshals Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force members and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Galway Drive in Charlotte. He was one of eight officers who were wounded. 

CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer, U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, and N.C. Department of Corrections officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott, who were assigned to the task force, died from their injuries.

During a ceremony in Statesville City Hall on Monday morning, U.S. Marshals Service Acting Director Mark P. Pittela presented Hoover with the Purple Heart Award in recognition of the “extraordinary courage” he displayed “in the face of life-threatening danger.”

Cpl. Hoover “stood in the line of fire alongside his teammates during one of the darkest days of our agency as well as in North Carolina’s recent history,” Pittela said. “You were struck by gunfire that day. Yet, even amid chaos and potentially debilitating injury, his resolve never wavered. Casey, your selfless actions embody what it means to serve.”

The U.S. Marshals Service presents the Purple Heart Award to officers who have been killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.

Cpl. Hoover said he was “deeply honored” to receive the Purple Heart Award.

“This award is a reminder of the risks we face, but more importantly, of the strength and support of those who stand beside us. I’m grateful for my family, my fellow officers, and this community who have been with me through it all,” he said.

“I will never forget the sacrifices made on April 29, 2024, and I remain committed to serving in honor of those we lost and those who continue to carry the mission forward.”

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