Ex-South Carolina police chief on trial for shooting death of unarmed man

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Reuters) - A white former police chief in Eutawville, South Carolina, will stand trial on Wednesday on a charge that he murdered an unarmed black man by shooting him during an arrest attempt in 2011. A jury was seated on Tuesday in the case of Richard Combs, who is accused of killing Bernard Bailey, 54, in the town hall parking lot after they argued and scuffled over a traffic ticket that had been issued to Bailey's daughter. Combs has said in court proceedings that he shot Bailey in self defense. His defense attorneys say the case has nothing to do with race. The former chief's indictment on the murder charge in December followed decisions by grand juries in New York City and Missouri not to indict white police officers involved in deaths of unarmed black men, setting off protests across the country. Opening statements in Combs' case begin on Wednesday morning at the county courthouse in Orangeburg. (Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Writing by Colleen Jenkins)