Ex-South Carolina police chief indicted in 2011 shooting death of unarmed man

Source: Reuters

BY HARRIET MCLEOD
CHARLESTON, S.C. Thu Dec 4, 2014 4:34pm EST

(Reuters) - A white former police chief in Eutawville, South Carolina, has been indicted on a murder charge in the 2011 shooting death of an unarmed black man he was trying to arrest, according to records released on Thursday.

The indictment of ex-chief Richard Combs came on Wednesday, the Orangeburg County Clerk of Court said, on the heels of decisions by grand juries in New York City and Missouri not to indict white police officers involved in deaths of unarmed black men this year.

Combs fatally shot Eutawville resident Bernard Bailey, 54, in the town hall parking lot in May 2011 after they argued and scuffled over a traffic ticket previously issued to Bailey's daughter.

Combs had already been indicted in August 2013 in connection with the shooting on a misconduct in office charge, with a grand jury finding that his use of deadly force was unjustified, according to court records.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/04/us-usa-south-carolina-murder-idUSKCN0JI1UX20141204