White officer gets probation in black driver's shooting

Source: Associated Press

White officer gets probation in black driver's shooting

Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press

Updated 4:34 pm, Monday, April 11, 2016



COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A white South Carolina police officer who was charged with a felony for shooting and killing a black driver at the end of a chase took a plea deal Monday and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Justin Craven, 27, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor misconduct in office, multiple media outlets reported. A prosecutor wanted the North Augusta police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter, which carries up to 30 years in prison, but a grand jury refused to indict Craven. He was later charged with a different felony.

Craven's plea comes amid a nationwide debate over the use of force and how white police officers treat black people, fueled by high-profile incidents including the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray's death after he was injured in a Baltimore Police van.

Craven shot and killed 68-year-old Ernest Satterwhite in his driveway after a slow, 15-minute police chase in February 2014. Craven shot after Satterwhite reached out of his widow for the officer's gun, Craven's lawyer Jack Swerling said after the plea hearing.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/White-officer-gets-probation-in-black-driver-s-7241692.php