Officer gives account of fatal shooting; police ID him

Police use of force against unarmed people is a well-worn topic, but Hammond’s case is different: Hammond is white and his shooting death hasn’t kicked off protests or marches in Seneca.

Justice for Zachary Hammond Zachary Hammond, 19, was shot dead by police on July 26 during a botched drug bust. The Charleston Post and Courier filed an open records request for the officer’s name, and the copy of the official incident report, neither of which have been released by the police.

Hammond’s death left his family scrambling for answers, but it did not spark the national outcry that has accompanied other fatal police shootings in the previous year.

“If the police officer was white and the victim was African American, the amount of attention on this shooting would be astronomical”, he told The Greenville News. “The hypocrisy that has been shown toward this is really disconcerting”, Bland told the Washington Post. Blacks make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, while whites are about 63 percent. Covington says Tiller “is listed as the victim of attempted murder in the report”.

Hammond was shot twice in the chest while his date ate an ice cream cone because someone shouted “gun” and officers opened fire striking him twice, according to the family’s lawyer. Zachary Hammond and the officer are both white.

A preliminary autopsy, released Tuesday, showed the fatal shot hit Hammond in the upper torso.

The officer, who has yet to be identified, says he feared for his life, but Hammond’s family says an autopsy released this week proves the cop was never in danger. According to Bland, Hammond was unarmed and didn’t poses the threat to the officer.

Mussetto said Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis found a white powdery substance, possibly cocaine, on Hammond’s body. This scenario is most strikingly similar is the recent Sam DuBose killing by a police officer in which the officer was named and charged with murder, according to Cincinnati.com.

Clark also pointed out that there haven’t been other high-profile reports of police misconduct in Seneca. “The driver accelerated and came toward the officer”, Seneca Police Chief John Covington said a day after the shooting.

The Seneca police department’s press office confirmed that the department would not be making any further comments on Hammond’s death during the investigation. He insists there would be more focus on the case if Hammond had been black.

“They’re called the civil rights organizations, they’re not called the black rights organizations”, Bland said. “The colour of his skin should not matter”.

Now on social media, debate is raging about the lack of attention Hammond’s death has gotten from #AllLivesMatter proponents, who have been accused of trying to distort the message of #BlackLivesMatter activists fighting for parity for black people in the criminal justice system.

The unnamed officer is now on administrative leave while the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigates the homicide. Mr Berry said it has not yet been determined whether that video will be released.

“The whole issue of race is getting distorted and what’s getting lost is the real issue which is excessive force,” Bland told the Washington Post.