An unarmed South Carolina man was shot in the back a total of 17 times by the police while he was on the ground, according to the dead man's sister. Tomekia Kind filed a lawsuit against Sumter police last week. In the paperwork, she described her version of what happened when her brother was killed. She is seeking an unspecified amount for damages and wrongful death.
Events leading up to the shootings
Waltki Williams led police on a chase last December. Police said at the time of the shooting, Williams did have a gun, and there was a brief struggle with police along with an exchange of gunfire.
They indicated that the cause of the chase was that Williams had threatened to kill his estranged girlfriend. She was afraid to go outside the mall because Williams was pointing a gun at her vehicle. The police chase began; first in the car and later on foot after Williams crashed the car.
Conflicting reports
What is stated in the sister's Lawsuit is different from the Police Report. Kind said that after her brother's car had crashed into an SUV at an intersection, the 35-year-old man threw an object out the back window so he could escape by crawling through the opening. When he was out of the car, police tackled Williams to the ground. Witnesses confirmed that at least three police officers began shooting the man while he was on the ground.
A total of 19 wounds were on the man's body, and 17 of them were in his back, according to his autopsy.
An attorney for Williams' sister, C. Carter Elliott, stated that since the victim was on the ground, he could not have been a threat. Elliott has asked to see the dash camera video, but the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has not allowed him to see it.
Therefore, the attorney is asking the court to subpoena the video so he can take a look at it.
The victim's sister is not backing down in her attempt to get justice for her brother. At his funeral, she said what happened was "so extreme and outrageous that it shocks the conscience."
The victim was an African-American male, but the identity and races of the police officers involved have not been revealed. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave during the ongoing investigation.
