Lawyer: Man hit by accidentTrooper accused of hitting suspect with cruiser could face prison, $25,000 fine By Yvonne Wenger (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Video
Lance Cpl. S.C. Garren hit a suspect with his car, the man flipped over and then landed in high weeds. Watch » Additional storiesCOLUMBIA — The attorney for a state trooper charged with violating a suspect's civil rights for running into him with his cruiser says it was an "unavoidable accident." "It's tough on him and his family," defense attorney John O'Leary said Wednesday at a pre-trial hearing. "It's been devastating." Lance Cpl. Steven C. Garren, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in June, faces a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison for using his patrol car to strike a man fleeing on foot. The incident, which was caught on Garren's dash- board camera, happened in June 2007 in Greenwood County. Garren can be heard on tape telling other officers, "I was trying to hit him." Chief U.S. District Judge David Norton set the trial for Sept. 30 in Greenville. Garren is expected to testify. He did not have any public comment as he left the courtroom. Little was discussed during the hearing, which was held to help determine the existence of evidence. O'Leary questioned several officials from Greenwood County Sheriff's Office to find out if any other dashboard video of the incident was recorded and obtain dispatch logs, communication between law enforcement and copies of the sheriff's policies on recordings. O'Leary also requested new, clearer copies of documents and recordings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alston Badger repeatedly objected to O'Leary's line of questioning because he felt it was outside the parameters for the hearing. The court was provided with the copies O'Leary requested but no other videos are expected to be available. According to disciplinary records obtained by The Post and Courier earlier this year, Garren was chasing a red sports car for speeding when it turned off the highway and into a neighborhood. Video recorded in Garren's cruiser shows a man jumping out of the red car and running down the road. Next, he is hit by the cruiser and flips into tall weeds, where he got away. Garren is suspended without pay, a ruling he is also appealing. "So much politics are involved in this," O'Leary said. "Ittruly was an unavoidable accident." Garren is one of two troopers charged with civil rights violations after a number of videos showing trooper misbehavior surfaced earlier this year and the Highway Patrol's parent agency, the Department of Public Safety, saw top-down shake-ups. Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 15 comment(s)
Posted by WhoCares on August 28, 2008 at 5:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Violating the victims civil rights??? What about attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, excssive use of force, or unnecessary use of deadly force?? I'd say this trooper is very lucky if all he's been charged with is violating the victims civil rights!!!
Posted by meggettcitizen on August 28, 2008 at 6:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you run from the law, I say take them out. You will have your day in court so dont run. I do not find anything wrong with what the officer did. Are we going to continue letting these idiots run from the law? They will end up killing an innocent bystander while they try to flee.
Posted by southerngirl45 on August 28, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unavoidable accident? He admitted trying to run him down!No one deserves to be run down like an animal. The last time I woke up it was still America."inocent until proven quilty"
I myself don't want some "hot head cop" out there protecting me.I agree with WhoCares 100%
Posted by ptmama73 on August 28, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If an officer tells you to stop the choices are very simple - STOP or suffer the consequences. When you run an officer must assume the worst about you: that you are dangerous, armed, transporting drugs, have a warrant, etc.
Instead of stopping this guy wanted to run and endanger innocent by-standers. If a by-stander had been injured (and happened to be a member of your family) would you still feel the officer used too much force? I think not.
Posted by WhoCares on August 28, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I guess meggettcitizen is saying that anyone who runs from the law MUST be guilty. I'm sure every driver who has been driving for a few years has turned a corner or changed lanes unnecessarily when they've had a cop riding their back bumper long enough to make them uncomfortable. I'm betting even meggettcitizen has a time or two. Does that make one guilty? Heck no, it's called self-preservation! Not all cops are crooked or break the law...but some do. Let's face it, if a crooked cop decides he doesn't like your looks he can ALWAYS find an excuse to pull you over in hopes of catching you with some minor imfraction.
As for killing an innocent bystander, the trooper should know to break off pursuit if the situation becomes that dangerous....unless of course he just HAS to write one more speeding ticket to meet his quota!!
Posted by summerville_guy on August 28, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Outside of debating whether or not the cop had the right to hit the criminal, the following are facts:
- The criminal should not have been running.
- The cop was a complete moron for bragging about hitting him while his voice was being recorded.
Posted by hollyplay on August 28, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Another rare occasion that I agree with EARLY! He should have taken him out.
WhoCares: Surely, you can't be a stupid as you sound. YES, anyone who runs from the cops CAN be presumed guilty. Comparing this to being "uncomfortable" by a police car following in traffic is absurd. Sure, I've been "uncomfortable" with a cop following behind, but I've never RUN from any of them.
Posted by CaptPete on August 28, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The police tells you to stop you stop. Nothing wrong with giving someone the chrome horn if he won't stop. A car door also works well. The camera video lens should have had some cardboard taped over it. Audio mikes are covered up all the time.
Posted by outrage on August 28, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cops do not like cops who do these kind of things. They make the rest of us look bad and make it tougher on other cops to gain the trust of the community.
That act was blatant! This comment is from a blueliner!
Posted by WhoCares on August 28, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sorry hollyplay, but I can be as stupid as I sound, it is my right as an american citizen...as it is yours :) It is also my right to live in relative safety without worrying about some rogue cop becoming judge, jury and executioner. But for the grace of god (just an axiom, not a religious statement) the suspect could have been killed. Does this cop have the right to kill someone over something as simple as speeding (the only thing he knew at the time the suspect was guilty of) just because he has the means to do so? I say not!!
If you condone this, what's next? If your spouse is doing something obnoxious and you ask them to stop and they don't, do you run them over? If your child doesn't stop playing a video game when you tell them to, do you summarily execute them? Just because you're a parent and have the authority and/or means to cause you child harm doesn't mean you have the right to do so...and if you do, you should be punished. So should this cop!!!
Posted by ironhorse on August 28, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I can understand that there are situations where a cop may accidentally run over a perp, accidentally back over him, then accidentally run over him again.
JohnQ obviously has been in the back seat of a police car, too bad he wasn't running from one.
Posted by ptmama73 on August 28, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The officer may only KNOW that the suspect was speeding but by making the choice to run the officer must SUSPECT the worst (i.e. guns, drugs, warrants, etc). There is absolutely no logical reason for anyone to run unless you are trying to hide something.
Posted by WhoCares on August 28, 2008 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So if a cop suspects something it gives him a license to kill??? What about innocent until proven guilty?? Maybe the speeder knows this cop and is afraid for his life...perhaps there is a history and the cop has threatened him in the past...a lot of things can happen on a dark road...
Posted by mkris on August 28, 2008 at 5:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
But your honor, my client is not guilty. The criminal ran into the cop car 50 times.
Posted by meggettcitizen on August 29, 2008 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you have nothing to hide you dont run from the law. WhoCares, you are an absolute idiot. The only way to prove whether he is innocent or not is do arrest him. If he runs and gets away there is no due process. I never said kill him.....Take him out, knock him down, break his friggin leg so he can run....whatever. If we continue to just let these guys run, well we will never know if they are inncoent or guilty. Im done with this.