The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Zachary Hammond – an unarmed South Carolina teenager who was shot to death by police last month while on a first date. Shortly thereafter, the Hammond family release a statement of its own, saying it ” hopes and trusts that the United States Justice Department will investigate the death of their son with the same intensity and thoroughness as it has demonstrated in other interracial settings”.
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The federal investigation by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will also involve the FBI office in Columbia, South Carolina, and the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina. An officer identified as Lt. Mark Tiller fired two shots through an open side window, striking Hammond in the back of his shoulder and side, killing him. “We need some kind of closure”. “We’re just trying to find answers”.
[An “unarmed” white teen was shot dead by police.
The announcement was welcome news to Hammond’s parents, who spoke just hours before at a news conference to beg for the release of dash cam video from the July 26 confrontation. “We have no clue as to what happened”, Hammond’s mother, Angie, said. Seneca police have said Hammond’s driving behavior posed a threat. (That dashcam footage was released only after a bystander video of the shooting emerged).
Hammond and his date were eating ice cream outside a Hardee’s restaurant when they landed in the midst of an undercover drug sting, the Post and Courier reported. Then Seneca, S.C., police officers converged on their auto, reportedly because they knew that Morton carried drugs (she was later charged with simple possession of 10 grams of marijuana).
A spokeswoman for the Seneca Police Department declined to comment. Hammond died at the scene.
The statement added that a white powdery substance “consistent with cocaine” was found on Hammond’s body.
Bland, however, says an independent autopsy shows the officer was not in the path of the vehicle and not in danger.
He said the focus should be on police departments and their policies when it comes to using deadly force.
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“Our son deserves that, and we deserve that as a family”, father Paul said.
