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Vol. 80/No. 14      April 11, 2016

 

‘We were lied to a lot’ in shooting by police

 
BY JANICE LYNN
SENECA, S.C. — “If I can help someone else not go through what we had to go through, it is worth the fight,” Angie Hammond told the Militant at her home March 15. Her son, 19-year-old Zachary Hammond, was shot and killed in a parking lot July 26 by Seneca Police Lt. Mark Tiller.

She testified at a state Senate panel March 9 in support of a measure that would require authorities to provide families of those killed by cops with quicker access to police video and autopsy results. She and her husband Paul Hammond have also filed a civil suit against Tiller, the Seneca police and the police chief, which is in the discovery stage. A separate federal investigation is ongoing.

The Hammonds fought for three months to have the dashcam video of the shooting released, trying to understand what happened to their son. Various media outlets also filed a suit demanding its release. “We were lied to a lot,” she said. “Their story kept changing.”

State prosecutor Chrissy Adams finally released the footage Oct. 27, at the same time she announced no charges would be filed against Tiller, despite what the video revealed.

It clearly shows Tiller running up to the car with his gun drawn, yelling, “I will blow your f___ ass off,” as Hammond tries to drive away. As the car goes around Tiller, he fires two shots, hitting Hammond in the side and the back. Even though Tiller was never in the path of the car, he claimed he feared for his safety. Both Tiller and Hammond are Caucasian.

“We didn’t even know the video had been released. They gave us no warning,” Angie Hammond said. She told the Senate panel her younger son was at school when he saw the video of his brother being killed, before they even had a chance to talk about it, and was devastated. “He was completely unprepared,” she said.

“When their versions don’t add up, it makes you not trust authorities,” she told reporters after the March 9 hearing. “We felt like we had to investigate Zach’s death. No mom should ever have to investigate their child’s death.”

The proposed measure, which came in the form of an amendment to another bill, was rejected by the senators as not relevant. They said they may consider it later. “I will testify to tell our story again if needed,” she told the Militant.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has ordered Tiller to provide a deposition March 25 in the civil lawsuit against him, rejecting a request by the cop’s attorneys for a 90-day postponement on grounds that a federal criminal investigation is still underway.
 
 
Related articles:
‘Prosecute cops who killed Jamar Clark’ in Minneapolis
Oregon ranch land protesters could be tried in 2 states at once
 
 
 
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