I saw this story on the news last night and it burned me up. I'm a little surprised nobody else has diaried this yet. Follow me over the Orange Haze for the sad tale of another victim of the War on (Some) Drugs.
A South Carolina prosecutor has decided against charging a City of Seneca police officer for shooting and killing an unarmed man during an attempted arrest.
ANDERSON, S.C. — No charges will be filed against an officer who fatally shot an unarmed South Carolina teen supposedly out on a first date, a state prosecutor said Tuesday.
Seneca Police Lt. Mark Tiller shot and killed Zachary Hammond, 19, of Seneca, S.C., in an attempted marijuana bust July 26 in a fast-food parking lot. The officer said he shot Hammond because he feared the teenager was trying to run over him with his car.
Ah yes, the law enforcement community's favorite song: the officer "feared for his life." Nevermind that the dashcam video tells a different story: Lt. Tiller was never in danger of being run over. (TRIGGER WARNING 45 seconds into the video, the officer fires his gun at short range through the driver-side window of the car)
And what heinous crime was the deceased suspected of that warranted his execution?
Tori Morton of Pickens, Hammond's date that night, was charged with simple possession of marijuana.
Yup. The cops shot a pothead. Not even the right pothead.
South Carolina law allows prosecutors to take into account the suspect's state of mind when deciding if the use of deadly force is justified, even if an officer at the scene isn't aware of at the time. That's right, the officer gets the benefit of information he DID NOT KNOW and COULD NOT USE to inform his decision to shoot. So of course we get a more-than-usual dose of victim blaming:
[10th Circuit Solicitor] Adams said in a letter to the State Law Enforcement Division that Hammond tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, and both drugs were found in the car packaged as if for sale.
(snip)
In text messages found on Hammond's cellphone, Hammond said he was "in full outlaw mode" and intended to "go out shooting," Adams said in the letter. He also said he had run several police checkpoints in previous weeks, including one June 23 in Clemson, S.C., that Clemson city police verified.
And Seneca City Administrator Greg Dietterick had this to say about the decision to not charge Lt. Tiller:
The past three months have been extremely difficult for the residents of Seneca, its city employees and the 45 members of its police force," Seneca City Administrator Greg Dietterick said in a statement. "While the effects of outside agitators to tear apart our community lingers, we are thankful the investigation has come to an end and shows Lt. Tiller was acting in self-defense.
So rest easy good people: the REAL victims of the shooting - the police - can go back to "protecting and serving" the citizens of Seneca.
So long as you're not suspected of possession of the Evil Weed.