Spartanburg Officer Shooting Justified
Deputies justified in using force in fatal shooting
BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. (AP) _ A State Law Enforcement Division investigation concludes that two Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies were justified in shooting a man while trying to serve a search warrant at his home.
The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reports that the result of the seven-month investigation has been turned over to the local prosecutor.
Authorities say that 28-year-old Phillip Michael Burgess of Boiling Springs died of several gunshot wounds last April.
The SLED investigation said that Burgess was a bodybuilder with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and was a person of interest in a steroid investigation.
The report said when deputies arrived, Burgess became agitated, punched a laundry room door and wrote “I will defend my home” on a dry-erase board.
It says when Burgess pointed a handgun at the deputies, two of them shot him.
