South Carolina State News by Betty Smith, Crime and Justice Reporter
A South Carolina police officer is out of a job and charged with assault and battery after police say he stomped on the neck of a disabled man who was already on his hands and knees.
Officer David Lance Dukes, formerly of the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, is charged with assault and battery for an incident that happened last week.
According to a warrant issued by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Dukes stopped a 58-year-old man with a stick and ordered him to the ground. The man's lawyer says his client moved slowly due to a disability and that wasn't faced enough for Officer Dukes.
That's when Dukes allegedly stomped on the man's neck and caused his head to hit the concrete. Paramedics treated a bruise on the man's forehead and took him to the hospital. After Officer Duke's bosses reviewed the body camera footage, he was fired.
Duke's lawyer, Jack Furse says his client is cooperating with the investigation. "This is a difficult and unfortunate situation. He has absolutely no violent history and he’s not a proclivity to violence."
What do you think should happen to the officer if he's convicted? Let us know?