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- Jul 28, 2008
It’s been seven weeks since 19-year-old Zachary Hammond was killed by a police officer during a minor drug bust while on a date at a South Carolina Hardees. State investigators completed their initial investigation into the shooting and turned over their findings to the prosecutor two weeks ago.
Zachary Hammond was killed by a Seneca Police officer during an undercover drug bust over a small amount of marijuana. Zachary Hammond (Courtesy of Eric Bland)
Yet 10th Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams says she will not make a decision about whether Seneca Police Officer Mark Tiller will be charged in Hammond’s shooting death for “several more weeks.”
Adams has also refused to release dashboard camera video that could shed light on what happened during the July 26 incident.
Fed up, Hammond’s family is calling for Adams to be removed from the case. The prosecutor, they say, has shown bias against their son.
“Chrissy Adams, what are you trying to cover up and why are you trying to cover up my son’s murder?” Hammond’s mother, Angie, said during a news conference Tuesday. “We have played by the rules even as Solicitor Adams keeps changing them, and we have waited long enough.”
Hammond’s parents are also planning to file a wrongful death suit in civil court, their lawyer said.
[An ‘unarmed’ white teen was shot dead by police. His family asks: Where is the outrage?]
Hammond was killed while behind the wheel of a vehicle during a marijuana bust. No weapon was found in the car; police say Tiller feared that Hammond would run him over with the vehicle and fired two shots, killing the teenager.
Hammond’s family denies the police account and commissioned an independent autopsy that found that Hammond was shot from behind.
The family also learned late last week that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which typically investigates officer-involved shootings in the state, had completed its investigation nearly two weeks ago. On Aug. 31, SLED turned its findings over to Adams.
According to Hammond’s family, Adams has proven that she is “unfit” to prosecute the case. The family filed a petition in state Supreme Court calling for Adams to be removed from the case, citing an inherent conflict between her working relationship with the Seneca Police Department and the possibility that she might be forced to prosecute one of the department’s officers.
The family also cited the prosecutor’s efforts to force the juvenile court to release Hammond’s sealed records.
[Justice Dept. opens civil rights probe into police shooting of Zachary Hammond]
They allege that in those lower court proceedings, Adams said that “the details of Zachary’s juvenile history prove his specific intent to run the officer over.” Adams did not respond to a request for comment about that statement.
In the Supreme Court petition, the Hammond family said: “This statement is probative and conclusive proof of Ms. Adams’ lack of objectivity and that she has pre-judged this matter even though she is not the judge or jury in this matter.”
According to the family, Adams’s delay in announcing her decision about possible charges against Tiller contradicts previous statements, in which she suggested that she would make a decision based on evidence collected through the SLED investigation.
But in a statement this week, Adams said SLED investigators still need to complete some “follow up matters” that will provide a “clearer picture” of what happened on the night that Hammond was killed.
And after the Department of Justice announced that it would investigate the shooting, Adams said her decision would be further delayed while she waits for federal investigators to complete their findings.
“The solicitor is now using the open DOJ investigation as a reason to delay,” said the Hammond family attorney, Eric Bland.
[Police release name of officer in fatal shooting of S.C. teen Zachary Hammond]
“Until both the state and federal investigations are finalized, and the Supreme Court rules on pending legal action taken by the attorneys for the Hammond family, a decision will not be made nor will the details of the investigation be released,” Adams said in her statement. “Unfortunately, while I recognize that this is a very difficult time for the entire community, this process will take several more weeks.”
The prosecutor, Hammond’s family charges, is only moving the goal posts.
“I think they keep moving that ball,” said Zachary Hammond’s father, Paul. “I think they’ll keep moving it.”
Decisions about charging an officer in these cases can take weeks, and according to SLED, it is not uncommon for prosecutors to ask for more information from investigators.
But the dashboard camera video, which Paul Hammond says was described to him as “very good” quality, exists and could be released at any time.
In fact, SLED has the power to release the video on its own but so far it has not, deferring to the prosecutor.
“The determination as to whether or not that will be released will be forthcoming with prosecutors in the case,” SLED spokesman Thom Berry told The Washington Post. SLED’s case file on the Hammond investigation is still open, and will remain open until the prosecutor makes a decision on charges.
It remains unclear why Adams will not release the video, and she has offered no explanation.
Adams did not respond to a request for comment beyond her statement Monday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...er-up-in-case-of-white-teen-killed-by-police/
Zachary Hammond was killed by a Seneca Police officer during an undercover drug bust over a small amount of marijuana. Zachary Hammond (Courtesy of Eric Bland)
Yet 10th Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams says she will not make a decision about whether Seneca Police Officer Mark Tiller will be charged in Hammond’s shooting death for “several more weeks.”
Adams has also refused to release dashboard camera video that could shed light on what happened during the July 26 incident.
Fed up, Hammond’s family is calling for Adams to be removed from the case. The prosecutor, they say, has shown bias against their son.
“Chrissy Adams, what are you trying to cover up and why are you trying to cover up my son’s murder?” Hammond’s mother, Angie, said during a news conference Tuesday. “We have played by the rules even as Solicitor Adams keeps changing them, and we have waited long enough.”
Hammond’s parents are also planning to file a wrongful death suit in civil court, their lawyer said.
[An ‘unarmed’ white teen was shot dead by police. His family asks: Where is the outrage?]
Hammond was killed while behind the wheel of a vehicle during a marijuana bust. No weapon was found in the car; police say Tiller feared that Hammond would run him over with the vehicle and fired two shots, killing the teenager.
Hammond’s family denies the police account and commissioned an independent autopsy that found that Hammond was shot from behind.
The family also learned late last week that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which typically investigates officer-involved shootings in the state, had completed its investigation nearly two weeks ago. On Aug. 31, SLED turned its findings over to Adams.
According to Hammond’s family, Adams has proven that she is “unfit” to prosecute the case. The family filed a petition in state Supreme Court calling for Adams to be removed from the case, citing an inherent conflict between her working relationship with the Seneca Police Department and the possibility that she might be forced to prosecute one of the department’s officers.
The family also cited the prosecutor’s efforts to force the juvenile court to release Hammond’s sealed records.
[Justice Dept. opens civil rights probe into police shooting of Zachary Hammond]
They allege that in those lower court proceedings, Adams said that “the details of Zachary’s juvenile history prove his specific intent to run the officer over.” Adams did not respond to a request for comment about that statement.
In the Supreme Court petition, the Hammond family said: “This statement is probative and conclusive proof of Ms. Adams’ lack of objectivity and that she has pre-judged this matter even though she is not the judge or jury in this matter.”
According to the family, Adams’s delay in announcing her decision about possible charges against Tiller contradicts previous statements, in which she suggested that she would make a decision based on evidence collected through the SLED investigation.
But in a statement this week, Adams said SLED investigators still need to complete some “follow up matters” that will provide a “clearer picture” of what happened on the night that Hammond was killed.
And after the Department of Justice announced that it would investigate the shooting, Adams said her decision would be further delayed while she waits for federal investigators to complete their findings.
“The solicitor is now using the open DOJ investigation as a reason to delay,” said the Hammond family attorney, Eric Bland.
[Police release name of officer in fatal shooting of S.C. teen Zachary Hammond]
“Until both the state and federal investigations are finalized, and the Supreme Court rules on pending legal action taken by the attorneys for the Hammond family, a decision will not be made nor will the details of the investigation be released,” Adams said in her statement. “Unfortunately, while I recognize that this is a very difficult time for the entire community, this process will take several more weeks.”
The prosecutor, Hammond’s family charges, is only moving the goal posts.
“I think they keep moving that ball,” said Zachary Hammond’s father, Paul. “I think they’ll keep moving it.”
Decisions about charging an officer in these cases can take weeks, and according to SLED, it is not uncommon for prosecutors to ask for more information from investigators.
But the dashboard camera video, which Paul Hammond says was described to him as “very good” quality, exists and could be released at any time.
In fact, SLED has the power to release the video on its own but so far it has not, deferring to the prosecutor.
“The determination as to whether or not that will be released will be forthcoming with prosecutors in the case,” SLED spokesman Thom Berry told The Washington Post. SLED’s case file on the Hammond investigation is still open, and will remain open until the prosecutor makes a decision on charges.
It remains unclear why Adams will not release the video, and she has offered no explanation.
Adams did not respond to a request for comment beyond her statement Monday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...er-up-in-case-of-white-teen-killed-by-police/
