Duty Death: Scotty Richardson - [Aiken]
By Police1 Staff
AIKEN, S.C. — One police officer was killed and another wounded in a shooting after a traffic stop Tuesday night.
Master Public Safety Officer Scotty Richardson, 33, died after shots were exchanged between police and a suspect outside an apartment complex, according to the Spartanburg Herald Journal. The suspect, also wounded and now in custody, was reportedly an occupant in the vehicle that was stopped.
Police said Officer Travis Griffin, 28, was treated at the hospital and later released. Griffin was wearing body armor at the time of the exchange and it is believed to have prevented serious injury.
Bystanders said they didn’t recognize the suspect’s vehicle, and he is not believed to be a neighbor, The Augusta Chronicle reported. Jasmine Jacobs, who lives near the crime scene, lamented the night’s events and the injury of officials who works to protect the public.
“It’s tragic,” Justice said. “They were just doing their jobs.”