Solicitor clears 3 officers in deaths of suspects

Date: 12/6/2006

By Noah Haglund

The Post and Courier

Thursday, December 6, 2007

A Charleston policeman who fatally shot a fleeing drug suspect in September and two North Charleston officers involved in a deadly Taser incident last year all acted appropriately, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson has ruled.

Jeroid Ferguson, 26, of North Charleston, died shortly after being shot in the Citadel Mall parking lot Sept. 10. Officers were attempting to arrest Ferguson on a drug charge, and he tried to flee in a car, hitting and slightly injuring one officer, according to their report. Another officer, whom authorities identified Wednesday as Pvt. Jason Bruder, fired the shot.

"There will be no prosecution of the police officer because Ferguson was a fleeing felon," said Wilson, who reached the decision Tuesday and noted that the suspect hit the officer after police identified themselves.

Bruder has returned to work, police public information officer Charles Francis said.

The other incident happened near Rivers and Reynolds avenues Oct. 1, 2006. A State Law Enforcement Division report said Kip Black, 38, had used cocaine before dying in custody after police tried to deploy Tasers on him 10 times. The Charleston County Coroner's Office ruled that the cocaine caused Black to die from "excited delirium syndrome."

Police and witnesses told SLED they saw Black repeatedly circling a utility pole yelling "Help me! Help me!" before he started taking off his clothes. When three officers approached to explain that they wanted to take him to the hospital, he started chewing on his driver's license and running into traffic, the officers said.

Cpl. Troy L. Capps and officer Hampton Jenkins used Tasers and chemical spray to little or no effect, they said. Four officers took the 240-pound man to the ground. He died at a local hospital. In the melee, Black tried to grab an officer's weapons and kicked another in the face, the officers' report said.

In a letter dated Sept. 6, Wilson found no criminal wrongdoing, saying the officers' actions were "appropriate and necessary."

Jenkins remains with the department, though Capps has left for unrelated reasons, said Spencer Pryor, North Charleston police public information officer.

Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postandcourier.com.

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