By: James | December 20, 2016

On December 14, 2016, the Georgetown County Probate Court approved a six-figure settlement for the benefit of the child of Valerie Harrington, a 36-year-old woman shot and killed by Georgetown County Sherriff’s Deputies on July 12, 2014.

 

  This settlement ends a wrongful death lawsuit against Georgetown County, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office and three of its deputies filed by Reta Abbott, mother of Valerie Harrington and personal representative of Harrington’s estate.  The lawsuit was originally filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Georgetown County and was moved to the Charleston Division of the U.S. District Court of South Carolina.

 

  Plaintiff Reta Abbott is represented by James T. McBratney, Jr. and Holly H. Wall, both of...

Category: Police 

Tags:

By: James | March 27, 2015

By   Wayne Drash , CNN

FAMILY PHOTO

Valerie Abbott Harrington adored her 3-year-old daughter, Lexi. It was Valerie’s mother, Reta Abbott, who called authorities on July 12 to seek help for Valerie when she threatened to harm herself.

The voice on the phone speaks in a soft, polite tone tinged with a few cracks from worry. Reta Abbott tells the 911 dispatcher that her daughter is posting suicidal thoughts on Facebook.

“I mean, she needs to be in a hospital,” the mother says.

Abbott called the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office in Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, at 4:57 p.m. on July 12. At times, the mother seems almost apologetic for seeking law enforcement’s help. The 911 operator responds with compassion: “All right, we’ll have...

Category: Police 

Tags: Police, wrongful death 

By: James | June 10, 2014

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is formally backing a proposal   being considered by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that would shorten the amount of time that federal drug offenders currently behind bars would have to spend in prison.

The proposal would apply only to nonviolent drug offenders and would be   expected to save taxpayers $2.4 billion . The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which already approved a proposal to lower certain drug sentencing guidelines, will vote next month on whether to make those changes retroactive.

“Under the department’s proposal, if your offense was nonviolent, did not involve a weapon, and you do not have a significant criminal history, then you would be eligible to apply for a reduced sent...

Category: Police 

Tags: drugs 

By: James | February 28, 2013

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - By. Jody Barr


Nearly five years after federal indictments uprooted the South Carolina Highway Patrol's leadership, newevidence is uncovered that a former high-ranking patrol official says shows the problem of racial discrimination still exists. 


WIS started investigating complaints of racial discrimination by patrolmen after we uncovered video of the patrol's internal affairs chief from January. In the traffic stop, a trooper cuffed Bobby Collins on suspected DUI, but let him go after the chief passed all the roadside sobriety tests. 


It was the information in those cases former the DPS Chief said explains the way he acted during the January traffic stop. Collins, whose job was to investigate every complaint mad...

By: James | December 14, 2012

Associated Press |


COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities say two people were killed after a driver fleeing from Cayce police ran a red light and caused an early morning crash.


The South Carolina Highway Patrol says the crash happened at around 12:30 a.m. Friday in downtown Columbia.


Investigators say the driver of a 2011 Hyundai ran a red light while being chased by Cayce police officers. The

Hyundai hit a minivan and a taxi. The minivan then hit a building and caught fire.


The drivers of the minivan and Hyundai were killed, and their names haven't been released. The taxi driver wasn't hurt.


Three passengers in the Hyundai also were taken to a hospital.


Category: Police 

Tags: