This story has many people scratching their heads this week. Of course, it’s the same old story that we’ve seen over and over again, across the country. This rerun is so old, its tiring for many of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving while black, standing while black, walking while black, minding your f***** business while black – if you are doing any of these things and you are unarmed – you still run the risk of being harmed.
However, the story coming out of Florence, South Carolina has another strange twist, and here are 10 things we need to know about how a STATE CONSTABLE was able to fire shots at an unarmed black motorist.
- On Saturday a State Constable was on a ride-along with a police officer in Florence, South Carolina. This is a common practice in South Carolina, for these volunteer law enforcement officers to.
- If you are not familiar with the role of a Constable, they are basically what citizens call Peace Officers. They have a very limited amount of authority and you will typically find them in small towns.
- During this ride-along with the Officer and the volunteer law enforcement official, the officer stopped a driver in a residential neighborhood. Police are not releasing any details, but how much money are you willing to bet that the driver was black and the Constable was white? How much??
- Police have not released specific details as to what occurred, but somehow, a VOLUNTEER Patrol person (Constable), fired his weapon, shooting and injuring the driver.
- As of Monday, investigators didn’t answer questions as to why this motorist was pulled over or why the Constable shot him; they also would not identify the parties involved. The only details Florence police would give is that it was the Constable and not their officer that fired shots. Why is the Volunteer even involved in a situation that was already being handled by the officer?
- Another important fact we need to know about Constables is that they do not have any formal law enforcement training. However, in S.C. , they are allowed to carry guns and make arrests. Constables are however, state certified based on training that is offered at technical colleges around the state. (If you have an image of George Zimmerman in your head right now, you are not alone)
- According to State Rep. Terry Alexander, “The city officer wasn’t in harm’s way, so why did the constable shoot?” – #QTNA
- Currently, the State Law Enforcement Department (SLED) is investigating whether the shooting was justified – i.e. (the police are currently investigating themselves).
- The injured driver is “expected” to survive.
- As for the officer, he still has his job and after the police investigated themselves, decided the officer is not the focus of the ongoing SLED investigations. They are still “investigating” the Constable; which probably means he is walking around Florence, SC living a normal life after almost taking the life of an unarmed motorist.
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