The following was released by Ben Crump's office.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump, and Bakari Sellers will hold a press conference on Jan. 15 at 11:00 A.M. EST to announce a civil lawsuit to be filed against the Anderson County Sheriff’s office on behalf of a sixteen-year-old girl who was shot multiple times and severely injured by Anderson County officers. The minor’s mother will address the press.
On August 11, 2020, the minor and her companion, 21 year old Bryan Keith Hamilton, were involved in a non-life threatening motor vehicle accident. Following a chase with Hamilton, in which the minor was involved, Police officers released a canine on the pair. The minor was unarmed, and posed no threat. The dog latched onto the minor girl, mauling her. Meanwhile, Hamilton shot himself and was killed instantly. At the same time, Anderson County Sherriff’s officers opened fire, hitting the minor at least 5 times. The minor girl suffered injuries including a shattered tibia, and significant wounds to her feet neck and back. She survived, but the mauling and gun-shot wounds have left her permanently disfigured and emotionally damaged. In statements following this incident, the shooting officers falsely claimed that Hamilton shot their dog and shot at them; however, additional investigation revealed that Hamilton shot himself and the police shot their own dog.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has one of the highest rates of police shootings in South Carolina, and this shooting of a minor girl while she was under attack by a police dog is a clear continuation of the ongoing civil rights deprivations of the citizens of Anderson County.
In response, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office issued this release.
Anderson, SC – Deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office were engaged in a vehicle pursuit on August 11, 2020 on Clemson Boulevard in Anderson. Upon the pursuit ending, deputies located the suspect vehicle and subsequently conducted a K9 track for those involved.
The K9 track led up a steep and heavily wooded embankment where two individuals were hiding. When the suspects were located, deputies believed they were engaged in an ambush situation when one of the suspects fired a handgun. Believing they were under attack, deputies returned fire, striking both suspects and K9 Roscoe at least one time.
The State Law Enforcement Division was requested to investigate the shooting incident and have provided the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office with a Letter of Declination. The letter from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office expresses that the deputies involved in this incident “used lawful and appropriate force under the circumstances”.
“As of now, we have not seen or been served with any civil litigation documents related to this incident. Our office is committed to serving the citizens of Anderson County to the best of our ability. We believe that our deputies acted in a manner that was in accordance with the situation they were faced with that evening. SLED has completed their investigation into the criminal matter surrounding the incident, clearing our deputies of any wrongdoing. Since there is a potential pending civil litigation, we cannot comment much more into the matter at this time. We do however, look forward to having the entirety of the evidence provided and heard in a court setting at some point.”
Chief Mark Keel with SLED contacted the State Attorney General's office concerning the suit. In a released letter to Keel, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Heather Weiss said upon review of the file sent by Keel she believed the authorities used "lawful and appropriate force under the circumstances."
