Cop Fatally Shot Teen In Back, Not In Self-Defense, Family Says

Autopsy reports clearly disprove the police's claim that a South Carolina officer fatally shot 19-year-old Zachary Hammond in self-defense, Hammond's attorneys and parents say.

A Seneca police officer shot the teen twice on Sunday during an arrest for suspected drugs, according to Greenville Online.

Police say Hammond was driving another woman to a parking lot, where an undercover agent had arranged to purchase drugs from her.

The officer got out of his marked vehicle and approached Hammond's car with his weapon drawn, Police Chief John Covington said, noting that this is standard practice for a "narcotics" investigation. That's when, according to the chief, Hammond accelerated his car toward the officer, local Fox affiliate WHNS notes. Covington maintains that his officer "fired two shots in self-defense" as Hammond "drove directly at him."

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