A grand jury has indicted former Eutawville Police Chief
Richard Combs in the fatal shooting of a retired correctional officer. Combs’
indictment for misconduct in office alleges that he used excessive force
against 54-year-old Bernard Bailey, who was shot three times during a
confrontation on May 2, 2011
Bailey’s friends have said the shooting apparently stemmed
from a dispute over a traffic ticket issued to one of Bailey’s daughters.
Friends have said Bailey was shot in his truck outside the
municipal building after exchanging words with Combs that morning. An autopsy
showed that Bailey was shot twice in the chest and once in the shoulder.
His friends described Bailey as a gentle, kind-hearted and
law-abiding man who, at the time of his death, was working as an assistant
manager at a Walmart in Summerville.
Combs, then 35, was originally placed on leave but was later
terminated.
The lack of official information in the case led to deep,
mounting frustration in Eutawville.
