FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina motorist was shot after a volunteer constable opened fire during a late-night traffic stop, the mayor of Florence said Sunday.
The part-time officer and not an accompanying city patrolman fired after a traffic stop that involved some damage to the officer’s cruiser, Mayor Stephen Wukela said during a press conference. The damage did not include bullet holes, he said.
The confrontation happened around 11 p.m. Saturday, but the mayor refused to describe what led up to the traffic stop or the shooting, or whether the motorist was armed.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating. While state investigators won’t describe the shooting, the constable is a white male and the wounded driver is a black man, SLED spokesman Thom Berry wrote in an email Sunday.
Constables are regulated by SLED and meet the same officer training and standards as a full-time law officer, Wukela said. The “constable involved in last night’s incident has worked periodically with the Florence police department for the past four years,” he said.
Constables undergo basic training, must pass background checks and can only carry guns after passing a firearms qualification course, according program details on SLED’s web site.
SLED is also investigating shootings on Thursday involving sheriff’s deputies in Kershaw County and U.S. Marshals in Berkeley County. There have been at least a dozen shootings so far this year involving South Carolina law officers.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.