Senate panel: SLED should investigate all officer shootings

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Senate panel has passed a bill that would require the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate all cases where a police officer kills a suspect in South Carolina.

Most police agencies already turn officer shootings and major injury investigations over the SLED, with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department being the main exception. SLED supports the bill.

The subcommittee also passed a bill Thursday that would assure people have the right to tape police in public. The proposal would give them the right to sue an officer who improperly seized their cellphone or recoding device.

The bill may be changed in committee. Senators are going to discuss whether the attorney general, instead of a local prosecutor, will decide whether an officer should face changes.