COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)—To the White police officer and the judge, the shooting two years ago of a Black driver after a chase was a split-second case of bad judgment not deserving of prison time. To some African Americans in South Carolina, it is example of a judicial system that does not protect them from officers who go too far.
Former North Augusta police Officer Justin Craven will serve three years of probation but no time behind bars for the killing of 68-year-old Ernest Satterwhite in his driveway after he led police trying to stop him for drunken driving on a 13-minute chase.
Craven’s dashboard camera captured the chase and shooting. As soon as Satterwhite stopped, Craven ran up to his car and stuck his gun into Satterwhite’s window. There is a brief struggle, and a black arm is seen pushing at Craven’s arm. Craven then pulls the gun out of the window and fires several shots.
Other officers run over and can be seen yelling on the video, which had no audio. Twenty minutes after he is shot, paramedics put Satterwhite’s body on a backboard and one puts a stethoscope to his chest.
Craven, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to misdemeanor misconduct in office. A prosecutor originally sought an indictment on a voluntary manslaughter charge that carried two to 30 years in prison, but a grand jury refused to indict. Solicitor Donnie Myers did get a grand jury to charge Craven with a different felony that carries up to 10 years but decided to take a plea deal. He did not return a message from The Associated Press.
The officer’s plea comes amid a nationwide debate about the use of force and how White police officers treat Black people, fueled by high-profile incidents including the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Freddie Gray’s death after he was injured in a Baltimore police van. A lawyer for Satterwhite’s family did not return calls. North Augusta paid the family nearly $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit.
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
Download our mobile app at https://www.appshopper.com/news/new-pittsburgh-courier
