City of Seneca response to Hammond Lawsuit

The City of Seneca released a statement concerning the shooting death of 19-year-old Zachary Hammond by a police officer. The Hammond family filed a federal lawsuit against the police department last month and, Friday, the city filed its response to some harsh allegations. In a 20-page release, the City rebuts claims made in the lawsuit. The Hammond lawsuit describes in detail what they believe happened on July 26 when their son was shot and killed in his car by Seneca police officer, Lt. Mark Tiller, in the parking lot of Hardee’s.
Seneca Police Chief John Covington said Tiller shot at Hammond because he drove the car towards Tiller and Tiller feared for his life. The Hammond lawsuit said Tiller charged the car from behind, before firing twice into the open driver side window and hitting Hammond in the shoulder and the back. The response from the city claims very little from the Hammond lawsuit is true. Seneca officials deny nearly every allegation, saying Tiller shot from the front of the driver side. The response comes after three Upstate newspapers filed lawsuits against the State Law Enforcement Division to get dash cam video from that night. SLED is the investigating agency and, despite their investigation being closed, it still has not been released to the media or the family.