Search fatalities

Jason Husted

Age : 47

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/18/2021

Location : 2567 Mona Avenue

City : West Ashley

County : Charleston

State : South Carolina

Agency : Charleston County Sheriff’s Office; Charleston Police Department

Officer(s) :Deputy Nicholas Vecchione

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during response to shots-fired call

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 09/18/2021, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nicholas Vecchione shot and killed 47-year-old Jason Husted during a response to multiple 911 calls reporting a man firing a handgun in the 2500 block of Mona Avenue in West Ashley. Later-released dash-camera and body-camera recordings, physical evidence, civilian witnesses and a Ninth Circuit Solicitor review provide a substantially fuller account than the initial reporting.
.
The encounter began at approximately 7:21 a.m. when multiple residents called 911 reporting gunfire in the neighborhood. Investigators determined that shots had struck occupied homes and vehicles before police arrived. Authorities also reported that a female family member was inside the residence and that Husted had threatened and assaulted her.
.
Charleston County deputies and Charleston Police Department officers responded. According to the later prosecutor's reconstruction and recordings released by the Sheriff’s Office, Husted was outside and continued firing after law enforcement arrived. Police alleged that he fired in the direction of responding officers, and one of his rounds struck a deputy's patrol vehicle.
.
Vecchione took cover approximately 400 feet from Husted with his department-issued rifle. According to Solicitor Scarlett Wilson's review, Husted fired toward Vecchione's position and Vecchione returned fire, initially missing him. Husted fired again, and Vecchione fired additional rounds. One of Vecchione's shots struck Husted in the upper torso and knocked him to the ground.
.
Vecchione fired three rifle rounds in total and was the only law-enforcement officer who fired during the fatal encounter. Investigators recovered three .223-caliber cartridge cases associated with Vecchione's rifle and multiple 9mm cartridge cases associated with Husted's handgun from the front driveway and backyard.
.
Body-camera footage showed another deputy approaching Husted after he fell and removing a Beretta 9mm handgun that remained in his hand. Police also recovered two pistol magazines from his pants pocket. Deputies attempted medical aid until EMS arrived, but Husted subsequently died from the gunshot wound.
.
The evidentiary record is particularly important in this case because the later video release allows substantial portions of the police narrative to be independently examined. Dash-camera and body-camera recordings captured responding deputies being fired upon and taking cover, while multiple independent 911 callers had already reported Husted firing in the neighborhood before law enforcement arrived. Physical evidence documented gunfire in the front and rear of the property and the round that struck the patrol vehicle.
.
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson reviewed the shooting and announced on 10/12/2021 that Vecchione would not face criminal charges. Wilson concluded that Husted had fired multiple rounds at occupied residences and responding law enforcement and determined that Vecchione's use of deadly force was reasonable and lawful.
.
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office released video from the encounter on 10/18/2021 after the prosecutor completed her review. Sheriff Kristin Graziano announced that Vecchione would return to duty after completing the department's normal post-shooting medical evaluation.
.
The later public record located for this update does not show Husted's family or an eyewitness materially contesting the central account of the fatal exchange, and no encounter-related wrongful-death or federal civil-rights lawsuit by Husted's family was located.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND
Nicholas Vecchione was the Charleston County deputy who shot and killed Husted. He was the only officer who discharged a firearm, firing three rifle rounds from approximately 400 feet away. In 2022, the South Carolina General Assembly formally recognized Vecchione after he received a Medal of Valor for his actions during Husted's shooting.
.
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office had experienced an extraordinarily serious death-in-custody controversy only eight months before Husted's shooting. On 01/05/2021, 31-year-old Jamal Sutherland died at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center after deputies attempted to forcibly remove him from his cell for a bond hearing. Sutherland had been receiving psychiatric treatment before his arrest and was experiencing a mental health crisis. Video subsequently showed deputies repeatedly using Tasers, pepper spray and physical restraint against him.
.
The Sutherland case produced major consequences before Husted was killed. Charleston County agreed in May 2021 to pay Sutherland's family $10 million, and Sheriff Graziano publicly described his death as a “disastrous set of circumstances” and acknowledged the need to reassess agency practices and resources. The two detention deputies involved were subsequently fired.
.
The problems at the Sheriff's Office's detention operation did not end there. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a federal civil-rights investigation into conditions at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center, citing deaths, violence, medical care, treatment of incarcerated people with psychiatric disabilities, solitary confinement and staff use of force. Federal officials specifically referenced Sutherland's death as part of the history prompting scrutiny.
.
Those detention-center problems do not establish misconduct by Vecchione in Husted's shooting. The Husted case itself contains unusually extensive corroborating evidence, including civilian 911 calls, physical evidence and police video. The Sheriff's Office history is nevertheless relevant institutional context because the same agency was confronting a major use-of-force and accountability crisis during 2021 and later became the subject of a federal civil-rights investigation into its detention operations.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.live5news.com/2021/10/18/charleston-co-sheriffs-office-releases-dash-cam-video-fatal-deputy-involved-shooting/
https://www.live5news.com/2021/09/20/coroner-identifies-victim-saturday-deputy-involved-shooting/
https://abcnews4.com/news/local/ccso-releases-name-of-deputy-involved-weekend-shooting-charleston-county-sheriffs-office-west-ashley
https://abcnews4.com/news/local/charleston-co-sheriff-releases-video-of-deputy-involved-west-ashley-shooting-wciv-vecchione
https://abcnews4.com/news/local/coroner-identities-man-killed-during-deadly-shoot-out-with-police-wciv-west-ashley
https://www.live5news.com/2021/10/12/solicitor-deputy-wont-face-charges-deadly-shooting/
https://sheriff.charlestoncounty.gov/news/2021/statement-on-sept-18-deputy-involved-shooting.pdf?v2=
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/query.php?category=LEGISLATION&conid=6824834&keyval=1240964&numrows=50&result_pos=1350&search=DOC&searchtext=police%25&session=0
https://www.live5news.com/2021/05/26/charleston-county-sheriff-issue-statements-following-million-settlement-with-sutherland-family/
https://www.charlestoncounty.gov/departments/sheriff/news/2021/sheriff-statement-on-jamal-sutherland-settlement-updated-5-26-21.pdf?v429=