Solicitor: police acted to protect themselves, public

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. — Greenville County deputies who shot and killed a Landrum man last year in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, were cleared this week of any wrongdoing, according to Solicitor Walt Wilkins.

Jacob Paul McCarty, 27, of Elm Avenue, Landrum, was shot and killed on Nov. 19, 2017, by officers.

Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis said the incident started as a car chase, with McCarty being suspected of driving while impaired.

Reports were that McCarty intentionally hit a deputy’s car during the chase, and the deputies deployed a stop method, with McCarty crashing into a store building.

Sheriff Lewis said McCarty pointed a gun at deputies and threatened them.

McCarty received multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, and died later at the hospital.

Solicitor Wilkins, after a detailed review of the investigative materials and relevant South Carolina law, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges against the Greenville County Sheriff’s deputies involved.

Wilkins continued to say the evidence supports a finding that the deputies acted appropriately given the circumstances in their efforts to protect their own safety and the safety of the public.