SC White Police Chief CHARGED WITH 2011 MURDER Of Unarmed Black Man In Wake Of Ferguson And NYC

[Segami]

An orange jump suit and Bubba is awaiting you...............




On Wednesday, December 3, 2014, more than three years after a white police chief in the small South Carolina town of Eutawville shot and killed an unarmed black man, Prosecutor David Pascoe brought murder charges against the former police officer. While claiming that it was always his intent to charge Richard Combs with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Bernard Bailey, Pascoe failed to file murder charges until the very day that a New York grand jury failed to indict a white officer for the homicide of another African-American male, and a mere week after the Ferguson grand jury failed to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. After Bailey, a 54 year old retired corrections officer, had argued with the then-Chief Combs about a ticket that Combs had recently issued to Bailey’s daughter, Combs had an obstruction of justice warrant brought against Bailey.




On May 2, 2011, several days after their initial confrontation, Bailey returned to city hall to complain about his daughter’s ticket. When Combs attempted to arrest Bailey, Bailey left and got into his nearby truck. Undeterred, Combs followed him to his truck, reached inside for the keys and tried to turn off the ignition. During the ensuing struggle, Combs shot Bailey twice in the chest, killing him. Bailey was unarmed. Bailey’s death was initially investigated by the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice as a possible civil rights violation. However, in March 2013 the Justice Department declined to bring charges against Combs. Five months later, in August 2013, South Carolina prosecutors obtained an indictment against Combs for “misconduct in office” relating to the fatal shooting. According to court records, the grand jury found that Combs was not justified in using deadly force when he shot and killed Mr. Bailey. Following the indictment, Combs was terminated by the 300 person town of Eutawville as the police chief of this one-man department. Combs’ trial on the “official misconduct” charges had been set for mid-December 2014. However, in November of this year Combs sought to have the charges dismissed under a “stand your ground” defense, claiming that he was in fear of his life during his encounter with the 6’6” Bailey.


South Carolina Judge Ed Dickson denied Combs claim, stating:

“Mr. Combs has failed to establish that he is entitled to claim self-defense as he did not show that he was without fault in bringing about the difficulty.”

Judge Dickson further found that:

“There was no need for Mr. Combs to act as he did on May 2, 2011, when Mr. Bailey refused service, as Mr. Combs expected would happen. … Mr. Combs should have allowed Mr. Bailey to leave and enlisted the assistance of other officers or serve the warrant at court as originally planned.”


http://thetandd.com/news/judge-no-stand-your-ground-defense-in-shooting-ex-eutawville/article_8e06fc66-7b60-11e4-b9a8-1ba299f9a3f8.html

- No one knows what the jury will decide on the charge of murder against Combs for the death of Bernard Bailey, but it is apparent that the word is spreading: it is not okay to shoot down unarmed black men just because you have a gun and a badge.




cont'


http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/05/sc-white-police-chief-charged-with-2011-murder-of-unarmed-black-man-in-wake-of-ferguson-and-nyc/

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[NoJusticeNoPeace]

1. Imagine how powerless one would have felt before the internet, if one was a minority

watching cops brutalize family members, killing them.

Nobody cared, nobody knew.

Now people care, people know.

Shit will change...has to

[Segami]

2. He shot a 54 year old retired corrections officer!

But he was black and that must have cranked him up.....


Now, its time he pays the piper.....

[jwirr]

3. Finally someone is indicted.

[Moostache]

4. Two thoughts...

1) The tide is not turning fast enough...the message that black lives matter needs to be assumed and not the focus of protests
2) Stand Your Ground are three words in a row that I could die a happy man without ever having to read again...

[robbob]

5. Good news! But I still want to know:

What about the young man who was shot in the chest in the back of a police cruiser while his hands were handcuffed behind his back? Where the police were trying to claim it was a suicide, even though the lack of gunpowder residue indicates that he was shot from a distance away?

How can that NOT result in murder charges and a conviction?

[obxhead]

6. The police should be charged for every crime they commit.

We entrust them to enforce our laws. They should obey them just like we do.