Death by Cop- 2024
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Michael P. O’Neal
Case # :1308
Gender : Male
Age : 39
Race : White
Date : 03/20/2024
Location : Chik-Fil-A parking lot on North Main Street
City : Summerville
County : Berkeley
State : South Carolina
Agency : Summerville Police Department
Officer(s) :Off-Duty Officer Anthony DeLustro
Cause of death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by off-duty officer for unknown reasons
Open records summary :
Off-duty Summerville officer Anthony DeLustro was involved in a fight which began as verbal argument in the Chik-Fil-A parking lot with Michael O’Neal. The argument escalated into a physical brawl initiated by DeLustro who was both described and also filmed by bystanders to be the main aggressor. O’Neal attempts to defend himself and then enters his vehicle and is seen trying to escape from the attack. At that point, the wife of Officer DeLustro grabbed, subdued and restrained O’Neal to prevent him from driving away from the confrontation. DeLustro is seen entering the vehicle of O’Neal and shooting and killing him point blank.
O’Neal was the son of a decorated North Carolina retired officer and grandson of the respective police chief of Winston-Salem. While Officer DeLustro stated that he identified himself as police and presented his badge during the altercation, O’Neal’s family adamantly denies this story could be true, stating that O’Neal came from a law enforcement family and would never fight an officer. There is sufficient video and eyewitness evidence suggesting that DeLustro was the main aggressor and O’Neal was unarmed, retreating and attempting to avoid the confrontation while he was murdered by the officer who had forced himself into his vehicle.
Officer Anthony DeLustro, a former NYPD cop who left NYPD for unknown reasons and became Officer DeLustro in small-town Summerville PD, was fired and arrested and charged for the murder. He is currently held without bail awaiting what the Solicitor General promises will be a trial in the near future. Updates to this case will be posted as they become available.
