POLICE DISCRETION

An example of the misuse of discretion by a police officer in the South Carolina case where a police officer decided to shoot into the vehicle of an unarmed 68-year-old man who was seated in his driveway after a car chase. The incident which happened in North Charleston led to the death of Ernest Satterwhite, who had refused to pull over after being signaled to stop by police officers because he seemed to be driving under the influence and thus endangering other motorists and pedestrians. The decision by Public Safety Officer Justin Gregory Craven to use deadly force on a senior man whom he could have easily overpowered and arrested was clearly a misuse of discretion considering that Satterwhite was unarmed and the vehicle was not in motion.