A Greenville, S.C. police officer who was fatally shot during a foot pursuit earlier this month may have been forced to keep his firearm holstered due to department policy.
The incident began as Officer Allen Jacobs and his partner spotted known gang member Deontea Mackey on Rebecca Street on March 18 and pulled over for a field interview, according to The Greenville News.
Mackey fled, leading the officers on a foot pursuit that went through woods and behind homes. About 20 seconds after the officers radioed in the chase, a second report was made of shots fired. Just seconds later, Jacobs rounded a house and was shot mulipule times by Mackey.
He was wounded despite wearing his bulletproof vest and other officers administered CPR before he was transported to Greenville Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The suspect kept running for about a half mile before he was cornered. Two of the officers in pursuit said they saw Mackey call his mother before taking his own life.
Just hours after Jacobs was fatally shot, Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said the officer's gun was still holstered when he was killed by Mackey. Police said Mackey then turned the gun on himself.
The Greenville Police Department's use of force policy prohibits an officer from using lethal force against subjects who are "believed to be unarmed or are not presenting an imminent threat to human life or serious bodily harm unless immediately apprehended -- whether or not they are fleeing from police."
Jacobs and his partner had stopped the suspect to question him about a weapon he was trying to acquire. Mackey pleaded guilty last month to a felony robbery charge and wasn't allowed to possess a weapon. Unbeknownst to the officers, Mackey had already obtained the weapon they were questioning him about.
To Jacobs knowledge, he was chasing an unarmed 17-year-old black male and wasn't permitted to unholster his weapon.