COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities say a small-town police officer in South Carolina has been charged with voluntary manslaughter for shooting and killing an unarmed man who led her on a high-speed chase and then tried to run from his wrecked car.
South Carolina Law Enforcement agents say Hemingway police Officer Cassandra Dollard was charged Wednesday with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting early Sunday after she chased the driver.
An arrest warrant says around 1:24 a.m. on February 6, Dollard tried to pull over Robert Junior Langley for running a stop sign in the town of Hemingway, which is in Williamsburg County. The warrant says it turned into a chase, with Langley disregarding traffic signals and driving over 100 miles an hour.
SLED agents say the pursuit continued onto Highway 261 in Georgetown County. About eight miles from where the pursuit started, Langley crashed his car in a ditch at the intersection of School House Road and Choppee Road.
Agents say Langley was trying to get out the passenger door when he was shot in the chest. Dollard told investigators she feared for her life and fired her gun once, hitting Langley in the chest.
According to an affidavit, Dollard did not see a weapon in Langley's hands, and no firearm was recovered from the scene.
SLED said Dollard had no authority to arrest Langley outside of Williamsburg County.