Officers cleared in shooting of Texas murder suspect in Columbia
An inquiry by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the local prosecutor has cleared local, state and federal officers involved in the January shooting of a Texas murder suspect.
On Jan. 25, officers from several agencies converged on Byron Road Apartments in Columbia to capture Damon James, who was wanted in Texas.
James tried to escape but turned around and came back, getting inside of a Nissan Murano, according to a news release Wednesday from the sheriff’s department. As the task force advanced on him, James pointed a 9mm pistol at one of the officers, officials said.
Officers fired on James and hit him, but did not kill him, according to the sheriff’s department. Shortly after that, responders heard a muffled gunshot from inside the vehicle. An autopsy showed that James was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, authorities said.
No Richland deputies were involved in the shooting.
A review by 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson determined that all officers involved acted in accordance with state law.
Glen Luke Flanagan: 803-771-8305, @glenlflanagan
This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 6:24 PM.