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Phillip John Walden

Age : 40

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/15/2021

Location : Interstate 26 eastbound near Exit 91

City : Chapin

County : Richland

State : South Carolina

Agency : Newberry County Sheriff’s Office; South Carolina Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police after multi-county vehicle pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/15/2021, a Newberry County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed 40-year-old Phillip John Walden after police pursued him for more than 40 miles along Interstate 26 through multiple counties. The pursuit ended near Exit 91 in Lexington County after police forced the vehicle Walden was driving into a concrete barrier.
The sequence began at approximately 5:30 p.m. in Laurens County. According to Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster, Walden's vehicle became disabled on I-26 and motorists stopped to assist him. Police alleged that Walden displayed a weapon and attempted to take the first couple's vehicle, but they drove away.
Walden returned to his vehicle and continued along I-26 before crashing and rolling down an embankment near mile marker 60, close to the Laurens-Newberry county line. Other motorists stopped to assist at that crash. Police alleged that Walden attempted to take two vehicles before obtaining control of another vehicle and driving east toward Columbia. Witness descriptions of the weapon varied considerably: 911 callers variously reported seeing a gun, knife or scissors.
At approximately 5:51 p.m., the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office began receiving reports about the incident. A deputy located the vehicle near Exit 72 and attempted to stop it. Walden continued driving away and Newberry County deputies began pursuing him east on I-26.
The pursuit became extensive and involved numerous collisions. According to Foster, Walden struck several civilian vehicles while deputies pursued him and at one point struck a Newberry County deputy's patrol vehicle, forcing it into a guardrail. At least 10 civilian vehicles and two police vehicles were ultimately involved in collisions during the overall incident, and two civilians were transported to hospitals with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
Police continued the pursuit through Newberry County and into the Columbia-area interstate system. Walden exited I-26 near Exit 97 in Richland County, reversed direction and returned toward Newberry.
Near Exit 91 at Chapin, Walden left I-26 and entered the parking area of a Taco Bell and gas station, where additional collisions occurred. He then crossed the highway and attempted to enter I-26 traveling west in the eastbound lanes.
A Newberry County deputy and South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper positioned their vehicles ahead of Walden. According to Foster, Walden struck the deputy's patrol vehicle. The deputy then used the patrol vehicle to divert Walden's vehicle into a concrete Jersey barrier, disabling it and ending the pursuit.
Walden got out of the disabled vehicle. Both the Newberry County deputy and Highway Patrol trooper also exited their vehicles.
The officers deployed Tasers against Walden, but the electrical weapons did not incapacitate him. Police accounts of precisely what happened immediately before the shooting differed somewhat in their wording. Foster told The State that Walden moved toward the officers and alleged that he then charged toward the Newberry County deputy. Another contemporary Newberry County account stated that Walden moved a hand toward the rear of his waistband before the deputy fired.
Critically, Foster acknowledged immediately after the shooting that he did not know whether Walden was armed during the final confrontation. Foster also confirmed that Walden did not fire at the deputy. Thus, although witnesses earlier in the incident had variously described Walden as possessing a gun, knife or scissors, the available public record does not establish that Walden possessed or displayed a weapon when the deputy shot him.
The Newberry County deputy fired multiple rounds, striking Walden in the upper body. Walden died at the scene. Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher subsequently confirmed his identity and determined that he died from multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body.
The shooting and pursuit produced an unusually large scene extending for more than 40 miles along I-26. Authorities closed a section of the interstate for approximately six hours while investigators processed the final shooting scene and collected evidence.
Because a Newberry County deputy fired the fatal shots, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division took responsibility for investigating the shooting. The deputy's firearm was turned over to SLED for examination, and the deputy was placed on administrative leave while the investigation was pending.
The publicly accessible record remains considerably thinner than the scale of the incident would suggest. Searches for subsequent SLED findings, a prosecutorial decision letter, body-camera or dashboard-camera release, detailed shooting reconstruction, civil lawsuit or settlement did not locate a later public document substantially expanding upon the 2021 accounts. The available reporting also does not identify the Newberry County deputy who shot Walden.
The later record therefore leaves several important questions unresolved publicly, including the exact number of shots fired, whether Walden possessed any weapon during the final confrontation, the distance between Walden and the deputy when the deputy fired, what the Tasers accomplished, and whether video recorded the final encounter.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office deputy who shot and killed Walden has not been publicly identified in the records located for this update.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wistv.com/2021/08/16/officials-release-identity-man-killed-i-26-officer-involved-shooting/
https://www.wrdw.com/2021/08/16/sled-investigating-officer-involved-shooting/
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article253518114.html
https://www.abccolumbia.com/2021/08/16/suspect-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-after-chase-on-i-26-in-newberry/
https://www.abccolumbia.com/2021/08/16/lexington-county-coroner-identifies-suspect-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-on-i-26/
https://www.swlexledger.com/single-post/coroner-identifies-suspect-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-on-i-26-near-chapin-sunday-afternoon
https://www.wyff4.com/article/deputy-shoots-kills-suspect-newberry-county-after-carjacking-chase/37316516
https://www.wltx.com/article/news/crime/man-killed-after-carjacking-and-police-chase-in-richland-county/101-0e4c7b77-6e78-4e91-9b0f-5a3b8a8c6f59
https://www.wistv.com/2021/08/16/man-killed-after-carjacking-chase-i-26/
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article253504589.html