SC cop charged with manslaughter in fatal shooting of unarmed Black man in Georgetown
A South Carolina police officer who was arrested Wednesday after allegedly shooting and killing a Black man has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, according to online jail records for the Georgetown County Detention Center.
Cassandra Dollard, 52, was booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center at 1:23 p.m., records show.
Dollard was employed as a sergeant with the Hemingway Police Department, according to a Facebook post from the Town of Hemingway dated Jan. 9.
Dollard, who is Black, is accused of shooting and killing a Black man Sunday in Georgetown County.
Robert Langley, 46, was shot and killed after a police chase that began in Williamsburg County ended with a car crash in Georgetown County.
After the shooting, Langley was taken to Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital, where he died, according to Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway. An autopsy will be performed Friday at Medical University of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating the shooting.
The Hemingway Police Department was established July 2021, according to a Facebook post from the agency. At the time, the department had three officers, including the chief, according to the post.
Victim unarmed
SLED agents arrested Dollard in Berkeley County, according to a press release from SLED spokesperson Ryan Alphin.
The police chase began when Langley ran a stop sign about 1:24 a.m. Sunday, Dollard’s arrest warrant states.
Dollard attempted to pull Langley over, but he didn’t stop, the warrant states, and Dollard began to pursue Langley’s car.
During the police chase, Langley disregarded traffic signals and reached a speed of more than 100 mph, according to the warrant.
The pursuit continued on Highway 261 into Georgetown County. About 1:30 a.m., Langley drove his car into a ditch at the intersection of School House Road and Choppee Road.
Langley, who was unarmed, attempted to exit the car through the passenger door.
Dollard claimed she was “in fear for her safety and due to that fear, discharged her department-issued firearm once,” shooting Langley in the chest.
Dollard told SLED investigators that she did not identify a weapon in Langley’s hands, according to the warrants. Additionally, no weapon was found at the scene.
The shooting happened about eight miles from the Town of Hemingway, the warrant states.
“Dollard had no authority to arrest Langley outside of Williamsburg County,” the warrant states.
‘Cruel fashion’
Langley’s family held a press conference Wednesday morning in Georgetown County calling for justice in his killing.
“We do know Robert Langley should be alive today. We do know he was taken from us in a cruel fashion — in an unjust fashion. We know that he was unarmed,” said Bakari Sellers, the Civil Rights attorney representing the Langley family.
“From what we’ve seen today on that video we can tell you that we believe, and this family believes, a crime was committed.”
