When Zachary Hammond (19) went to a South Carolina Hardee’s parking lot Monday night, he had no idea he was about to die. Although he was caught in a marijuana sting, the real target was Tori Morton (23). Police shot Hammond in the back twice at point-blank range and killed him. Passenger Morton was not injured.
Bad Shoot
Police say the Seneca police officer approached Hammond’s car with his weapon drawn — common practice during drug arrests. Police Chief John Covington said the officer “felt threatened,” because Hammond drove right toward him. Then he fired his gun through the open driver’s side window.
Interesting. So how was it that Hammond acquired killing wounds in his back?
Drug Attorney
Hammond’s attorney, Eric Bland, indicated that the autopsy proved the dead teen was definitely shot in the back while the car was stopped. Shot number one entered Hammond’s left rear shoulder. Shot number two, the killing shot, was fired from 5 inches away at a downward angle. The attorney further reported the autopsy’s findings,
“It entered his side from behind cutting through the man’s heart and lungs before exiting his lower right side. The shots were so close in proximity to each other that it would be physically impossible unless the car was stopped and the officer came up very close to an open window.
“Picture a car going 20 miles an hour and I’m fortunate enough to get a shot off, and I hit you — there’s no way I can get the second shot if the car’s going 20 miles an hour.”
No Police Report
Chief Covington admitted that the case was headed toward a lawsuit and drug attorney Bland’s description of the autopsy findings is biased,
“The attorney wasn’t there, either. He’s got to put his spin on things. His clients are the parents and they’re grieving, I understand that. My heart goes out to them.”
The police did not file a report about the actual shooting, but Covington said it would be filed at some point. He also stated that it is possible that the officer could have made contact with the car and pushed off before firing the shots.
Oconee County coroner, Karl Addis, issued a general statement on Tuesday. It indicated that Hammond did indeed die from a gunshot wounds to his upper torso, but the statement omitted any further reference to the shots’ trajectories.
After Hammond died, police searched his car and found a bag of marijuana. The focus of the string, Morton, was uninjured and arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. He faces a potential $500 fine.
Shooting Investigation
Bland said that the S.C. State Attorney General has called for,
“…an all for a statewide grand jury investigation of the shooting. This is a 19-year-old kid without a weapon in his car, clearly in the Hardee’s parking lot on a date, and within five minutes he has two shots that appear to be in his back and his side, from an officer shooting him from the back — and he’s dead and this family needs answers.”
The officer’s name has not been released, but he has been placed on administrative leave while the State Law Enforcement Division investigates.
Another police shooting. Good Lord, when is this going to stop? Watch the video report posted online by WHNS-TV:
