Ex-officer who faces felony gun charge remains city employee

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former North Augusta officer who faces a felony gun charge in last year’s fatal shooting of a 68-year-old black man is still employed by the city, though not in law enforcement.

Public Safety Lt. Tim Thornton said Wednesday that 25-year-old Justin Craven remains in city code enforcement, where he’s worked since September. That’s shortly after a grand jury indicted the white officer for misdemeanor misconduct in office in the February 2014 death of Ernest Satterwhite.

Craven was arrested Tuesday on an additional charge of discharging a gun into an occupied vehicle.

Craven repeatedly fired into Satterwhite’s driver-side door following a chase to the man’s driveway in Edgefield County.

Thornton says Craven was placed on administrative leave that day and reassigned several times since but never regained law enforcement authority.