An officer-involved shooting took place in Greenville County, South Carolina on Monday evening, the tenth such incident of the year.
Last year, the Palmetto State set a new record with 49 officer-involved shootings.
According to multiple law enforcement sources, this latest incident took place on Third Avenue just off of Shaw Street near downtown Greenville. It involved at least three deputies of the embattled Greenville County sheriff’s office. All three of the officers who fired shots were white males, we’re told. A fourth officer – a black male – was on the scene in a supervisory capacity but did not fire his weapon.
Early reports indicate the suspect – 35-year-old Jermaine Massey – confronted deputies with a knife, prompting them to open fire.
According to sheriff’s deputies, Massey was instructed on numerous occasions to drop the knife he was wielding. He refused.
In the aftermath of the shooting, deputies rendered aid to Massey prior to emergency personnel arriving on the scene – but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Greenville Memorial Hospital.
As a matter of protocol, all officer-involved shootings in the Palmetto State are investigated by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Barring any conflicts, the agency then forwards its findings to the solicitor with jurisdiction over the county where the shooting took place. In this case, that would be S.C. thirteenth circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins.
Of course as this news site has reported on extensively in recent weeks and months, there are all sorts of conflicts related to investigations involving embattled Greenville County sheriff Will Lewis. In fact, there are even conflicts involving the solicitors who have inherited those investigations.
So stay tuned … we’ll have to see who ultimately receives this case.
Meanwhile, the four officers who were involved in the incident are on paid administrative leave until the various reviews are conducted.
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