Officer crashes on way to scene

The Post and Courier

A man was shot in the mouth near Charleston's Crosstown Expressway early Friday, and an officer on the way to the scene crashed into another car, authorities said.

Twenty-year-old Shabazz Rainey of North Charleston was taken to surgery at Medical University Hospital for the bullet wound, Charleston police said. Neither police nor the hospital would provide information on his condition.

Two people riding in a car hit by the officer's cruiser were expected to recover, as was the officer.

"He's doing fine," police department public information officer Charles Francis said. He declined to elaborate on the police officer's injuries.

An incident report gives this account of the shooting:

Police responded to Ashley Avenue and Line Street at 12:35 a.m. to find Shabazz sitting on the ground and holding a white tank top to his mouth. Blood with broken teeth pooled underneath him.

A witness told police the shot came from a moving vehicle but could not provide a description. A crime scene technician, however, doubted that scenario.

The report says that officers recovered a single .45-caliber shell casing about 3 feet from the front door of Ave. Quick Stop at the same intersection. A gunfire detection system also recorded a shot in the same general area. Police had trouble finding cooperative witnesses.

The crash occurred shortly after the shooting. Officer Michael Burke crossed into the opposite lanes at Line and Coming streets and hit a 2008 Kia sport utility vehicle with two people inside, Highway Patrol Cpl. Paul Brouthers said.

Highway Patrol identified the SUV driver as 20-year-old Annalise Rahman of North Charleston. MUSC reported that Rahman was treated and released the same day. No specific information was available on her passenger, though Brouthers said everyone involved was expected to recover fully.

Burke contributed to the collision by going into the opposite lanes of traffic, Brouthers said, though troopers did not intend to cite him. The officer had his lights on without the siren at the time.

Francis said the department did not plan to take any disciplinary action against Burke.

Reach Noah Haglund at nhaglund@postandcourier.com or 937-5550.