"Department Finds Cop who Shot Man Through his own Front Door did Nothing Wrong"
Deputy Kevin Azzara, Greenville SC County Sheriff's Office, shot a man, Dick Tench, 4 times through the man's front door. The deputy was responding to an medical assist alarm call at the home and claimed the homeowner opened the front door and aimed a gun at him. The deputy's own bodycam footage proves otherwise. Even with the bodycam footage and the lies on Azzara's report, the sheriff's office investigated their own blue line brother's actions and and of course found no wrong doing.
"Internal affairs investigators for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office determined deputy Kevin Azzara acted according to policy when he shot 62-year-old Dick Tench, who was standing in the window next to the front door to his own home.
An internal investigation conducted by the sheriff's office's Officer of Professional Standards to see if deputy Azzara violated any written policies found that no agency policies were violated when he opened fire on the man while standing outside his home.
However, Azzara blatantly lied in his police report, claiming that Tench had opened his front door and pointed his weapon at him when the video shows Tench was standing behind a closed door just holding the gun.
It happened on June 14 when Tench was awakened at midnight by loud banging on his front door and bright lights shining through his windows believed was an intruder trying to break into his home when he grabbed his pistol and walked towards his front door to investigate. Tench ended up shot by deputy Azzara, who claims he confused him for a burglar."
"The Sheriff’s Office’s statement for weeks after the shooting was that my client opened his front door and aimed at a deputy, and you can look at that body cam — that ends that version,” attorney Beattie Ashmore told The Greenville News Monday after the Sheriff's Office released the clips of footage. “It’s difficult to explain how something like this could have happened."
Bodycam footage:
Greenville County Sheriff's Office's critical incident community briefing:
Deputy Kevin Azzara, Greenville SC County Sheriff's Office, shot a man, Dick Tench, 4 times through the man's front door. The deputy was responding to an medical assist alarm call at the home and claimed the homeowner opened the front door and aimed a gun at him. The deputy's own bodycam footage proves otherwise. Even with the bodycam footage and the lies on Azzara's report, the sheriff's office investigated their own blue line brother's actions and and of course found no wrong doing.
"Internal affairs investigators for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office determined deputy Kevin Azzara acted according to policy when he shot 62-year-old Dick Tench, who was standing in the window next to the front door to his own home.
An internal investigation conducted by the sheriff's office's Officer of Professional Standards to see if deputy Azzara violated any written policies found that no agency policies were violated when he opened fire on the man while standing outside his home.
However, Azzara blatantly lied in his police report, claiming that Tench had opened his front door and pointed his weapon at him when the video shows Tench was standing behind a closed door just holding the gun.
It happened on June 14 when Tench was awakened at midnight by loud banging on his front door and bright lights shining through his windows believed was an intruder trying to break into his home when he grabbed his pistol and walked towards his front door to investigate. Tench ended up shot by deputy Azzara, who claims he confused him for a burglar."
"The Sheriff’s Office’s statement for weeks after the shooting was that my client opened his front door and aimed at a deputy, and you can look at that body cam — that ends that version,” attorney Beattie Ashmore told The Greenville News Monday after the Sheriff's Office released the clips of footage. “It’s difficult to explain how something like this could have happened."
Bodycam footage:
Greenville County Sheriff's Office's critical incident community briefing: