White Ex Police Chief Indicted for Murder of Unarmed Black Man in South Carolina; Lawyer Calls It 'Completely Wrong'
The small town of Eutawville, South Carolina, got a decision that many residents in New York City and Ferguson, Missouri, sought when a grand jury announced the criminal indictment of the town's white former police chief for the murder of an unarmed black man.
At a court hearing Thursday, Richard Combs, 38, the former chief and sole officer in the small town that has a population of just 300, was released after satisfying a $150,000 bond, according to WLTX. Combs is facing 30 years to life in prison if he's convicted for the murder of 54-year-old Bernard Bailey outside the Eutawville Police Department in May 2011. The two were engaged in an argument and scuffle over a traffic ticket previously issued to Bailey's daughter.
Combs' attorney, John O'Leary, has called the indictment against his client "wrong," after arguing that the prosecutor in the case, David Pascoe, leaned on national outrage toward law enforcement over the New York and Ferguson cases, according to The Associated Press.
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"He's trying to make it racial because his timing is perfect," O'Leary argued. "He's got all the national issues going on, so they want to drag him in and say, look what a great community we are here, because we're going to put a police officer who was doing his job in jail for 30 years. That's wrong. That's completely wrong."
Pascoe, however, denied being opportunistic and asserted that his goal in the case was always to get a murder charge if a judge threw out Combs' "stand your ground" self-defense claim, which happened last month. Before then, he had only been charged with misconduct for killing Bailey and was facing up-to 10 years in prison.
The tragic event was set in motion after Bailey's daughter was issued a traffic ticket by the former chief for a broken taillight, according to the AP. She called her father to the scene and he got into an argument with Combs before both men went their separate ways. But the conflict did not end there. Combs got an arrest warrant for Bailey for obstruction and tried to arrest him a few days later when he came back to argue his daughter's ticket.
Realizing what was happening, prosecutors in the case said Bailey tried to return to his truck. Combs pursued Bailey and tried to get inside his truck to shut off the engine. Both men got into a fight and Bailey, 54, was shot two times in the chest.
Combs said he was tangled in Bailey's steering wheel and feared for his life if Bailey drove away. Last month, a judge threw out his self-defense claim and ruled Combs should have let Bailey leave.
Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson wrote in his decision to throw out Combs' self-defense claim that it was clear Bailey was trying to leave and it was Combs who initiated the confrontation, according to WLTX. Dickson further noted that Bailey posed no threat to the public. It was this decision that cleared the way for the murder indictment.
Bailey's family, who reportedly filed a wrongful death suit in 2012 against the Town of Eutawville and Combs, settled in April for $400,000.
On Thursday, his widow, Doris Bailey, said the indictment was a long time coming.
"We've been waiting for this," she said. "It's really taken its toll on the family. Mr. Bailey was a good man, a very good provider and we all miss him greatly."
