The former chief of a South Carolina police force has been charged with murder for fatally shooting an unarmed black man back in 2011.
According to the Associated Press, Richard Combs was the police chief in Eutawville, S.C. back in May 2011 when Bernard Bailey entered a town hall meeting to dispute the ticket his daughter received for having a broken taillight. The Associated Press adds that Combs attempted to arrest Bailey for obstruction of justice, and when Bailey walked to his truck, Combs tried to enter the vehicle. He then shot Bailey twice in the chest at close range.
Although Combs claimed that he was trying to turn the vehicle off and feared for his life at the time of the shooting, prosecutors labeled him the aggressor. Immediately following the shooting, Combs was placed on leave. He was fired six months later.
Combs was indicted yesterday, and the Associated Press notes that the charge could warrant a minimum of 30 years in prison and, at most, a life sentence. Bailey's family and the town of Eutawville agreed to a $400,000 wrongful death settlement.
[via Associated Press]
