Man shot in back of head by S. Carolina cop sues department

Source: Associated Press

Michelle Liu, Associated Press/report For America
Updated 4:24 pm CDT, Friday, June 26, 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Black man who was shot in the back of the head during a traffic stop in South Carolina last fall is suing the Columbia Police Department, the city and the officer.

Attorneys for Sir Brandon Legette, 29, filed a complaint in federal court Friday morning alleging the officer, Sean Rollins, used unjustified force when he shot Legette near a grocery store parking lot during the early hours of Aug. 24.

A 76-second clip of body camera footage released by attorneys shows Legette lying stomach-down against the center console of his car, with Rollins above him inside the vehicle. The video shows Rollins striking Legette twice in the head and then shooting Legette once.

The police department previously said Legette ignored multiple commands to exit his Dodge SUV, and accelerated away with one officer partly inside the car. Authorities said the officer was being dragged and shot Legette while trying to get him to stop the vehicle.

In stills from dashboard camera footage shown to reporters Friday, the officer appeared to be entirely inside the car as it began moving across the lot.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Man-shot-in-back-of-head-by-S-Carolina-cop-sues-15369649.php

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Officer Sean Rollins

‘An attempted execution.’ Man sues Columbia officer who shot him after traffic stop
BY DAVID TRAVIS BLAND
JUNE 26, 2020 12:48 PM , UPDATED 2 HOURS 14 MINUTES AGO

- video at link -

A man who was shot in the back of the head by a Columbia Police Department officer is suing the department and the officer.

Sir Brandon Legette filed the federal lawsuit through his lawyer Friday morning.

At a news conference, Legette’s attorney, Marc Brown, called the shooting “an attempted execution.”

“I was just terrified,” said Legette, who stood beside his mother during the conference. “I’m appreciative and thankful to be here today to share my story with you and the truth.”

More:
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article243816277.html