Vol. 79/No. 41      November 16, 2015

Despite video, above, that shows cop Mark Tiller shooting Zachary Hammond, right, as his car passes by, prosecutor claimed Hammond was trying to run Tiller down.

State prosecutor Chrissy Adams announced Oct. 27 that she would not file any charges against Tiller, and finally made public the police camera footage showing what happened. In addition to repeated requests from Hammond’s family, the Greenville News and other media outlets had filed a lawsuit demanding its release.

In an Oct. 26 letter to the State Law Enforcement Division, Adams described the video as “troublesome,” but concluded, “Tiller broke no State laws.” She said, “It was concerning that Lt. Tiller chose to run up to Hammond’s car instead of staying at his patrol car’s door,” but nevertheless “deadly force was justified.”

The dashcam video, which has now been widely viewed, is unmistakable. It shows Tiller rushing up to Hammond’s car with his gun drawn, yelling, “I will blow your f…. ass off” as Hammond tries to drive away, not at Tiller. As the car goes around him, the cop grabs it, then fires two shots as the car passes him, hitting Hammond once in the side and once in the back.

Adams also released texts and emails purporting to show Hammond used and sold drugs.

“These had no relevance to what happened,” Paul Hammond said at his home. “Zach had some problems, but he was certainly not a ‘drug king’ as some of the media have stated. Why was the first thing the officer did was pull out a gun?”

“We are more disappointed by an investigation that seemed more focused on attacking the victim, which was Zach, than investigating the shooter,” his mother, Angie Hammond, told the press Oct. 29. Adams “tried to show Zach’s life was not worth anything.”

Paul Hammond told reporters he wants to meet with Gov. Nikki Haley and officials of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division so they can watch the video together and then look him in the eyes and tell him the officer was justified in killing his son. The family has organized several vigils and press conferences to protest the killing. They filed a civil suit against Tiller, the Seneca Police Department and the police chief, and a federal investigation is continuing.

“Before this we were like many middle-income working people, just trying to get through each day,” Paul Hammond told the Militant. “But now we think about things differently and are questioning a lot of things we see in the news.”

Going door to door in Seneca, Militant correspondents found pretty much everyone had seen the video. “I believe that cop should go to jail,” said 16-year-old Jahlil Harrison, an African-American high school student. “I didn’t think he was trying to hit that officer.”

John Clark, 72, a retired industrial engineer who is Caucasian, said, “Even though he tried to run off, [Tiller] shouldn’t have shot him. That officer needs to be prosecuted.”

“I think both were in the wrong, but the cop handled it wrong when he rushed up with his gun drawn,” said Garrett Mock, 22, who works at Home Depot.

Eric Bland, an attorney representing the Hammond family, said Oct. 29 that state Rep. Todd Rutherford will ask the state attorney general to reopen the case.  
 
 
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