More charges brought against South Carolina troopers
A third trooper has been charged with civil rights violations stemming from the videotapes which were released last year in response to FOIA requests by media and requests by a Senate committee.
On Wednesday, prosecutors filed charges against Lance Cpl. Alexander Richardson, accusing him of using unreasonable force against a man who Richardson was chasing in his car through a Columbia apartment complex in 2007. The charge is a misdemeanor, unlike the felony charges filed against Garren and Sawyer.
Last October, trooper Steve Garren was acquitted of charges related to his running down a suspect in his patrol car and then bragging about it on tape. Former trooper John B. Sawyer, who kicked a truck driver in the head following a police chase, pled guilty to civil rights violations on Monday.
Richardson, a trooper in Richland County, was given a reprimand following an incident in 2007 where he, in his patrol car, chased a man who was on foot through an apartment complex yard with children present, jumped curbs and struck the suspect with this vehicle.
