Former South Carolina Officer Faces Felony Charge in Shooting

An Edgefield County, S.C., grand jury has indicted a former North Augusta Department of Public Safety officer on Wednesday on a felony charge in the shooting death of 68-year-old Edgefield County resident Ernest Satterwhite Sr.

The Edgefield County Clerk of Court’s Office confirmed the grand jury indicted the former officer on a charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle following the 2014 shooting death of Satterwhite, who was unarmed, following a vehicle pursuit. Grand jury proceedings are closed to the public and to the media.

The charge against the former officer, brought by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division, is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, or both, according to SLED.

Earlier this year, the City of North Augusta and Edgefield County agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million to Satterwhite’s estate to settle a wrongful-death suit filed by Anthony, Satterwhite’s brother. Anthony sued the City of North Augusta, North Augusta Public Safety, Edgefield County and the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office for actual, consequential and punitive damages, the Aiken Standard reports.