S.C. Insurance Fund pays $75K in wrongful death suit against police
Police forced their way into a man's home after a neighbor called 911 to report an assault.
The family of a South Carolina man killed by police has received a $75,000 wrongful death settlement out of the state’s Insurance Reserve Fund, according to a report released by the agency.
The victim, Charles Edward Rosemond Sr., 55, fired shots at Greenville County deputies who broke down the door of his apartment in December 2015 after a neighbor called 911. According to the investigator’s report, the deputies broke down Rosemond’s door because no one answered when they knocked, and they feared an unconscious victim might be inside after the neighbor reported an assault.
One officer was injured with a superficial head wound during an exchange of fire. Rosemond was shot in the leg during the interaction and died while the deputy was being treated for his injuries. The lawsuit filed by Rosemond’s family claimed that the deputies were negligent when they failed to provide prompt first aid to Rosemond.
The deputies were cleared in the death, with the sheriff’s office noting that the insurance fund payment was not an admission of fault in the shooting.
According to the official website, the Insurance Reserve Fund is a division of the South Carolina State Fiscal Accountability Authority and is authorized and required to provide insurance to government entities.
In this case, the insurance provided coverage for the negligent actions of the sheriff’s deputies. Although the life lost was worth more than $75,000, that recovery is more than the family would have received if a fund did not exist in the state.
Related: