Witness says Unarmed Black Man was Shot in the Back by Orangeburg County Deputy

From [HERE] and [MORE] A Tuesday autopsy confirmed that a Eutawville man killed in what's been described as an officer-involved shooting died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Bernard Bailey, 54, was shot twice in the chest and once in the shoulder, according to Orangeburg County Coroner Samuetta Marshall. Residents said that Bailey came to the town hall to pay a water bill and to inquire about a traffic ticket that his daughter had gotten. They say after that, the deadly shots rang out.

An eyewitness claims to have seen the reverse lights on Bailey’s Chevrolet truck come on. The witnesses said when the officer reached the truck, a struggle ensued at the driver’s side door. Apparently, Bailey got out of the car and a confrontation ensued. All indications are that Bailey was unarmed.  

“For you to walk out of your place and follow a man and shot him in the back three times like a dog, like he don’t belong to nobody, and then you outside drinking coffee like you didn’t do anything wrong? Something is wrong with you,” Hamilton said.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating Monday's shooting incident, which occurred outside town hall. The Town of Eutawville says it has now put Police Chief Richard Combs on paid administrative leave pending a state police investigation for his involvement in a deadly shooting.

Combs was the only member of the Eutawville Police Department. Akers said the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office will temporarily provide law enforcement services to Eutawville during the investigation.

Eutawville, is a small eastern-Orangeburg County town.

According to records from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, Combs was previously an officer in the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office and had his employment terminated in 2007. [MORE]