FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Ed Clements, 12th Circuit Solicitor, says he will hand off the case of a Florence constable shooting a man during a traffic stop to the Attorney General’s office.
Solicitor Clements confirms with News13 Wednesday afternoon that the case will be sent to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson to decide if charges will be filed in the case. Clements says he is handing the case over due to a conflict of interest.
“Possible conflicts or an appearance of a conflict of interest need to be avoided to ensure fairness and confidence in the process,” Clements says. “We have connections on both sides of this situation so the AG will handle this. They have put a lot of study recently into officer-involved shootings and are well equipped to deal with this.”
A state constable shot a man Saturday night around 11 p.m. in Florence during a traffic stop on Waverly Avenue near Sunset Drive. The constable, Christopher Bachochin, was riding with a Florence police officer. In a body camera video, the police officer said they pulled the man over for crossing the center line on the road. The officer also said he smelled marijuana.
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The officer repeatedly asked the man to get out of his car. The man put his car in reverse and hit a police cruiser. The constable fired eight shots, according to 12th circuit solicitor Ed Clements. The man took off.
According to records obtained by News13 from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, Bachochin worked for the Darlington Police Department from 1998 to 2003. In one of the body cam videos, a police officer said the constable had been riding with Florence police on Saturdays for weeks.
Mayor Wukela said the constable was riding along with a Florence police officer so we could maintain his certification. “The city of Florence isn’t in a supervisory position. The constable’s not in the chain of command in the city of Florence in any way.”
News13 asked SLED whether the mayor’s statement about supervision was true. SLED spokesperson Thom Berry directed News13 to two SLED policies for constables.
One of the policies said, in part, “An agency requesting the assistance of a State Constable is fully liable and responsible for the supervision and actions of the constable and for injuries to, or damages resulting from, actions by the constable.” City manager Drew Griffin told News13 he doesn’t think this policy applies to the situation in Florence because the constable was training and on a ride-along.
The Florence Police Department said it put its constable program under review.
