SC officer who killed unarmed teen fired 13 months later

A police officer who wasn’t charged in the shooting death of an unarmed South Carolina teen was fired from the force more than a year after the incident.

Seneca Police Chief John Covington said in a short statement that Mark Tiller was being terminated and would stay on the payroll until Friday. He didn’t give a reason for the firing, calling it a personnel matter.

A state prosecutor didn’t press charges against Tiller for the July 2015 killing of 19-year-old Zachary Hammond, saying while Tiller might have made a bad decision heading toward Hammond’s moving car, the officer had less than three seconds to react and broke no law.

Federal authorities are still investigating.

Hammond’s family released a statement saying they are glad Tiller will no longer be a police officer.

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