A Police officer from the state of South Carolina, Lieutenant Mark Tiller has shot an unarmed white teen at very close range, killing him instantly.
According to the account of the story, at around 8:20pm on July 26th, 2015, Zachary Hammond who was on his first date with his girlfriend drove his 2001 Honda Civic through the parking lot of a Hardee’s restaurant in the city of Seneca, in Oconee County.
The couple’s car was stopped at a drive-through window for several minutes for what the police said was a marijuana inspection. The police claimed Tiller approached Hammond’s car, ordering him to show his hands but Hammond refused to obey the order and instead accelerated toward the officer.
The officer is then said to have fired two rounds from his 45 caliber handgun, at close range, through the open driver’s side window of Hammond’s car. The bullets struck Hammond, killing him on the spot. His girlfriend was later issued a summons for possession of 10 grams of marijuana and the police alleged that she had planned to sell it to an undercover officer who had set up the deal.
Filming Cops reported that some witnesses to the incident said they saw the police take something out of their patrol car trunk and place it under the lifeless body of Hammond.
After the shooting, the police defended the reckless conduct of Tiller, saying he feared being run over by Hammond’s vehicle when he backed it up and then pulled forward toward him. Tiller has since been suspended and the police say they are still investigating the incident.
It is even said the Seneca Police Chief, John Covington initially refused to release Tiller’s name, identifying him as the shooter in violation of South Carolina’s sunshine law, but did finally release it 12 days after the incident in response to Freedom of Information requests.
Hammond’s family on the other hand has categorically denied the account of the story narrated by the police. The family said Hammond was trying to park the car and was not at any risk to Tiller or any of his colleagues. The family’s lawyer was quoted as saying, “the teen was shot in the back and his car was not moving”.
Another area of Hammond’s death that raises lots of questions is the autopsy report. An independent autopsy suggested a bullet hit him in the back of one of his shoulders and the side, near the back of his head. But the earlier autopsy by Oconee County Coroner, Karl Addis claimed that there were bullets lodged in his chest and shoulder.
The family has pleaded with the police to release the dash cam footage of the incident to show how he was shot but the police have repeatedly turned down that plea.
The family has also expressed concerns about how the incident was covered (or rather, not covered) by the media and the response by the public in general. They said in a world where the #BlackLivesMatter campaign has taken firm foothold, it is sad to note that white teenage boy victimization has not invoked the same level of public outcry that is so common with the killing of an unarmed black man.
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Fucking pigs
Fuck tha police!
They should scream and hollar from every news outlet they can get to and not stop until they get answers.
Check this shit out. We call ourselves humans? Where is the rallying for this poor kid? So sorry black lives matter, but you have enough support right now. I’m shifting my resources to this kid. And if you call me racist for withdrawal, then I will find you all in question.
Einstein: BLM were the ones to initially shed light to this story.
There’s a specific reason for the BLM campaign which is NOT to diminish any one else s’ travail. We ALL (you, me and any one else with a damn soul)mourn this sick, senseless killing and BLM’s particular, unfortunate relevance has nothing to do with that.
Also, how was this cop in fear of being run over if he was in position to shoot through the driver side window? I have t0 call BS on that.
If the family is not smart enough to get a lawyer to subpoena the available media, then I have little hope for any justice ever coming to light in this matter. Furthermore, there used to be a time when, prior to social media, crap like this was (and will continue to be) a *common* problem between cops with agendas and witless public citizens, criminal or otherwise. Where is the outcry? Why should there be one at all? Why do we have COPS in the first place?
Yes, lets feed the racial separation, sure colored people have gotten lots of unfair treatment, but why make it a color thing at all? They are people, same as everyone else.
“Police gun down teen” would be more than enough, making it a white vs. black thing just makes it revolting.
And before you flame me, I do not belittle this family’s pain and sorrow, I just find it wrong to use color to try to draw extra attention.
That being said, I do hope they punish this officer, not just pat him on the back with a warning, fire the sob.
This kind of behavior is becoming a dangerous trend as of late, and not just in the USA.
I hope you all know what RT is, and if you do NOT know then I highly recomend you to read up against it.
Russia is a fucked up country, so lets be at least a little sceptic of what they say, in fact, research everything that you hear, most of it is distorted or maybelive.
America is a fucked up country, so lets be at least a little skeptical of what they say, in fact research everything that you hear, most of it is propaganda.
I highly recommend Democracy Now, Thomm Hartmann, The Center For Media and Democracy, MOther Jones, The Nation and Al Jazeera English.
If you really want to know what’s happening in this country show up at your State legislature and attend some hearings. See how your legislators do their job and read the legislation. You’ll find out who is doing what to whom and how.
Get Out, Get Active or Get Screwed!
I have no doubt panda bear,s are confused their black, white, and Asian and everybody loves them.
My point is all lives matter even yours
My condolences to Zachary,s family and friends .
Yes the officer should be charged.
Anonymous needs to keep us all informed of where this criminal officers go after their aquitals so we can not let them live normal lives
I live nearby, and this case has NOT been overlooked by the public. There have been several protests, and we’re trying to bring as much attention to this case as we can. Maybe it’s the national media that’s ignoring the case? Local people are very unhappy that the dash cam hasn’t been released. We’ve completely lost any faith in SLED.