MANNING, S.C. — A Manning Police Department officer has been fired after officials alleged he helped his son, a suspect in a double homicide, receive medical treatment for a gunshot wound without notifying police, WIS reported.
The incident unfolded on Oct. 6 when a man was arrested and charged with murder and weapons-related counts after a suspected robbery attempt at a Dollar General.
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As the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office investigated the robbery, deputies found that the wounded suspect drove himself and another wounded individual to his father’s house, WECT reported. The suspect’s father had previously served as a Sumter County deputy and had been serving as a Manning Police Department officer.
The officer allegedly placed a tourniquet on his son’s leg and told him to go to a hospital. The gunshot victim who was with the suspect later died at the hospital. Another victim died at the scene.
Sumter County authorities stated that the officer did not call 911, report the shooting or request an ambulance.
Filings submitted to the academy stated that a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigation found text messages on the officer’s phone in which he told his children he could no longer warn them about police activity, such as roadblocks and traffic stops, because Sumter County had encrypted its radio channel, WIS reported. Officials said the officer also failed a polygraph exam as part of the investigation.
The officer was suspended on Oct. 8 and was later fired. Documents stated the Manning Police Department said the officer’s actions may have hindered the investigation and possibly delayed care that could have saved the life of one of the victims, according to WIS.
In a termination filing, the Manning Police Department stated that the officer “failed his duty and acted in a manner unbecoming of a police officer,” WIS reported.
The former officer has not been criminally charged in the incident, but an investigation remains ongoing.
