Lethal Force
Jermaine Massey was having a mental health breakdown when he called 911 to ask authorities to remove him from his home. “I’m trying to do the right thing right now before I snap out and stress out and hurt anybody,” Massey told the dispatcher over the phone. Deputies found him in his back yard, holding a knife to his chest. He was unresponsive to deputy instructions to drop the knife. About 20 minutes later, four deputies fired 11 rounds at Massey, killing him in his backyard in the Poe Mill community. Tiffany Copeland, his then fiance, and their children are now left to continue their lives without the man who meant so much to them. The “Lethal Force” series digs through 10 years of case files, examines training, the law, the human cost for families like Tiffany’s and for law enforcement officers.
Greenville County Sheriff's Department officers investigate the scene of an officer-involved shooting near Poe Mill on Monday, March 19, 2018. Jermaine Massey called 911 for help after experiencing a mental health breakdown. He was shot by deputies while pacing back and forth in his backyard while holding a knife.
Law enforcement officers in training observe their classmates participate in a scenario exercise at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Many of the academy's training scenarios are based on previous incidents in an attempt to teach officers on how to better respond to similar situations in the future.