RPD officer's firing throws cases into doubt, Wake County DA says

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Raleigh police officer is out of a job after a lengthy internal investigation, and court cases are under scrutiny, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Tuesday.

Former Senior Officer Kyle Epps, who had been with the department since October 2017, had been on administrative leave. He was terminated April 5. leading his cases to be thrown into doubt.

The reasons for his firing were not disclosed.

"During the week of April 7, 2025, the Wake County District Attorney's Office asked that a court order release the Internal Affairs investigation to our office so that we could review the matter and determine what, if any, impact it has on our ability to move forward in cases in which Officer Epps was the charging officer," Freeman said in a statement.

Freeman said that after reviewing the internal report, the DA's office sought additional guidance from the court regarding which sections of the report may contain information that prosecutors must disclose to defense counsel in pending cases.

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"Defendants are entitled under U.S. Supreme Court law to information about a witness that could be used to question the witness' truthfulness, bias or any other matter that might undermine the witness' trustworthiness," Freeman said. "At this time, the District Attorney's Office is actively reviewing cases in which Officer Epps is the charging officer and will make a decision about the best manner in which to move forward."

She added that some cases that have minimal effect on public safety will be dismissed.

Freeman said it wasn't clear how long it would take to identify and review each case, but the process is underway.

"As prosecutors, we are committed to ensuring that a defendant's right to have access to certain information regarding witnesses in his or her case for purposes of cross-examination is protected," Freeman said.

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