COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An off-duty police officer in South Carolina was charged with homicide Wednesday after state investigators mentioned he shot a person making an attempt to drive away after the 2 fought in a quick meals restaurant car parking zone.
Anthony DeLustro instructed investigators he was making an attempt to cease the person from leaving after the struggle and had gotten into the passenger seat of the sufferer’s automotive as the person instructed him to get out and commenced driving off, in accordance with a sworn assertion from the State Legislation Enforcement Division.
DeLustro, 64, mentioned he shot Michael O’Neal as a result of he feared he would possibly get trapped below the shifting car, however state brokers mentioned somebody restraining DeLutro after the struggle heard him threaten to shoot the 39-year-old man if he tried to depart.
O’Neal by no means had a weapon or threatened to make use of a weapon throughout the struggle, which concerned kicks and punches within the car parking zone of a Chick-fil-A in Summerville on March 20, state brokers mentioned.
Court docket and jail data didn’t point out if DeLustro has an lawyer. Summerville Police mentioned they fired the officer. He had began his profession with police in New York Metropolis earlier than shifting to South Carolina in 2007.
If convicted of Homicide, DeLustro faces 30 years to life in jail.
Earlier than DeLustro’s arrest, O’Neal’s household launched an announcement on a Go Fund Me web page saying they have been optimistic that state police would discover the reality.
“This can be a household that has quite a lot of respect for regulation enforcement on the whole, but is absolutely conscious that no career is freed from dangerous actors,” they wrote.
State brokers didn’t element why O’Neal and DeLustro began preventing, however mentioned DeLustro initiated the altercation, yelling at O’Neal “do you wish to do that?” and utilizing an anti-gay slur.
DeLustro, who was not working that day, instructed O’Neal he was below arrest throughout the struggle and confirmed him his regulation enforcement credentials, brokers mentioned.
In the course of the struggle, DeLustro’s gun fell out of its holster and the officer’s spouse tried to carry O’Neal throughout the struggle and as he tried to get into his automotive, in accordance with the sworn assertion.
Somebody was holding DeLustro again as O’Neal tried to depart, however DeLustro obtained away, grabbed his gun off the pavement after which obtained into O’Neal’s automotive, state brokers mentioned.
DeLustro instructed brokers he was performing in self protection, however investigators mentioned he recklessly put himself into hazard and O’Neal was not a menace when he was killed.
Jeffrey Collins, The Related Press
