South Carolina prosecutor won’t charge cop in 19-year-old’s killing during drug sting

A South Carolina police officer will not face criminal charges for killing a 19-year-old man during a drug sting, a state prosecutor announced Tuesday.

In a statement, 10th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams said Seneca Police Lt. Mark Tiller will not face state charges for fatally shooting Zachary Hammond, who was shot twice on July 26 in a Hardee’s parking lot.

Tiller maintained he was threatened with being run over by Hammond, who was driving the car that also carried Tori Diana Morton, 23, the target of the drug investigation.

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“After careful consideration of the facts of the case, a thorough review of the state investigation and an extensive review of all applicable law, I have determined that no criminal charges should be filed against Lt. Mark Tiller at the state level,” Adams said in a statement.

“The evidence from this investigation corroborates and supports Lt. Tiller’s belief that he was going to be run over. Therefore, the only conclusion that can be rendered is that deadly force was justified,” she wrote in a letter to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the state agency that investigated the case.

The letter and a dash cam video of the incident were released after Adams met with the Hammond family.

Eric Bland, attorney for the family, said the video shows that Tiller was not in danger of being run over when he fired the fatal shot.

“It’s just a sad day to see an unarmed kid who was shot unnecessarily by excessive force where it clearly violated all the police policies,” Bland told the Greenville News. “This was just a traffic stop at the time.”

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating to see whether Tiller violated Hammond’s civil rights, officials said.

Bland said the family will pursue its civil lawsuit against police. The family alleges that a private autopsy showed the teen was shot in the side and the back, proving that the threat from the vehicle was over.

The prosecutor said in her letter that the case began when a person named Tori sent a text message offering to sell cocaine and marijuana. The text was intended for a person identified as “CA” but instead went to a state Highway Patrol officer whose phone number was the same except for one digit.

The Highway Patrol officer contacted the Seneca Police Department, which set up a drug buy in the restaurant parking lot with an undercover officer, B.J. McClure. That policeman eventually called for backup and Tiller, in uniform and in a marked police cruiser, responded.

“The dash cam video shows Lt. Tiller pulling his vehicle behind Hammond’s parked car. Hammond can be seen on video subsequently putting his car in reverse,” the prosecutor wrote. “Hammond is able to reverse and maneuver his vehicle between Tiller’s patrol car and [Seneca Police Sgt. B.J.] McClure’s car. Tiller quickly approaches Hammond’s car on the driver’s side with his gun drawn and repeatedly orders Hammond to stop and to show his hands.”

The video shows Tiller eventually being face to face with Hammond’s car and “shows Tiller’s feet going underneath the car at the approximate time the shots are fired. This can also be seen in the still photos provided by the FBI lab. Two shots are fired in rapid succession. The first shot can be heard almost immediately after Tiller pushes off the car and when his body is still exposed to danger from the vehicle. The second shot immediately follows,” according to authorities.

Adams said tests showed that Hammond had cocaine, a drug used to cut cocaine, and marijuana in his system and that he had used them within three to six hours of the shooting, which happened about 8:20 p.m. Illegal drugs were also found in the car, officials said.

Adams said she will not be releasing any additional information because of the federal investigation.

“The past three months have been extremely difficult for the residents of Seneca, its city employees and the 45 members of its police force,” Seneca City Administrator Greg Dietterick said in a statement.

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