Nine officers in South Carolina had no choice but to fire on a man after he wounded a woman last month, then used her body as a shield during a shootout, a sheriff said Friday.
Ramiro Ramirez “came to do battle” after killing the woman on a busy highway in Greenville on July 14, firing on responding officers before they could even get out of their cars, Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis said at a news conference.
Ramirez hid behind 25-year-old Candy Rosario’s body, reloading once as he kept firing at deputies, Lewis said.
The shootout ended with Ramirez, 34, putting the gun to his own head and pulling the trigger, Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans has said.
Since the State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting, Lewis said he doesn’t know exactly how many shots his officers fired or whether any of them struck Rosario.
The nine deputies followed all police rules and he reinstated them to active duty 11 days after the shooting, Lewis said. The criminal investigation into the shootings continues, the sheriff said.
But Lewis left little doubt he felt like the shooting was legal.
It appears that she was not dead, at least not yet, as she covers her head around the 58 second mark. I wonder how many police rounds hit her. Its easy to MMQB but I wonder if it would have been possible to maintain cover until a well aimed rifle shot was possible? What a sucky situation to be in for the officers, not to mention the victim.
I agree. She was clearly still alive, at least before the flurry of fire. You can see many off target hits around the suspect and victim. Only rifles should have been deployed, but I know how “sympathetic fire” tends to occur. Lousy situation for all…..