FBI Concludes Civil Rights Investigation Against North Augusta Police Officer
It has taken nearly two years for the FBI to conclude the civil rights investigation they launched in an attempt to understand what caused a public safety officer to shoot and kill a drunk driver that they had pulled over.
In February of 2014, Justin Craven engaged in a car chase with 68-year-old Ernest Satterwhite who Craven suspected of DUI.
After Satterwhite crossed the county line dividing North Augusta from Edgefield County, Satterwhite pulled into a driveway. At this point, Craven left his own vehicle and approached Satterwhite’s.
The dashboard video shows footage of Craven pulling his weapon when he approached the Satterwhite’s vehicle. When a hand emerges from the open window, Craven pulled back, only to reinsert the gun through the weapon at which time shots are fired.
An investigation revealed that not only was Satterwhite unarmed when he was shot, he didn’t even have a weapon in his vehicle
The entire amount of time that passed from Craven first reaching the car and firing his first shot was four seconds.
Craven agreed to plead guilty to misconduct charges in April and was fired from the North Augusta Police Department. In the wake of his plea, he was sentenced to do 80 hours of community service and was placed on a three-year probation.
The judge tasked with issuing Craven’s sentence said that while he didn’t agree with or condone Craven’s actions, he could understand how the officer thought he was in danger.
Circuit Judge Frank Addy sentenced Craven. The Standard reported Judge Addy indicated he did not consider the shooting justified, but could understand why Craven thought he was in danger.
Special Agent Michael Stansbury was in charge of the investigation, told the press that while his portion of the investigation was over, he did not know how the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice would choose to handle the case.
Following the incident, North Augusta agreed to a wrongful death settlement with Satterwhite’s estate. The amount of the settlement was $1.2 million.
“These types of cases are so difficult because it’s easy to see both sides point of view,” said Attorney Joseph Sandefur of South Carolina’s top personal injury firm at joeandmartin.com. “On one hand, I find the idea of what is supposed to be a highly trained police officer killing an unarmed man alarming, particularly since I put so much face in the local police departments. On the other hand, I know how much stress the officers have to deal with all the time and realize how easily they can make a mistake.”
Anytime someone dies as the direct reaction of someone else, such as being shot by a police officer, it’s considered a wrongful death, or a death that could have been prevented.
It’s important to understand that just because the defendant wasn’t found guilty of the crime, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the grounds to create a civil case against them.
“It is always difficult to know just what to wish for in cases like this,” Joe and Martin, mused when he learned about the gruesome discovery. “On one hand, you want the family to be able to gain some closure, the other, you know that as long as the body of their loved one isn’t found, there’s still hope she is alive and well.
Statistics indicated that approximately 1.2 million 
Cognitive studies have been performed on people who are drowsy. These studies revealed what most people already suspected, that exhaustion, fatigue, and sleepiness has a serious impact on both alertness and cognitive function. Someone who has not gotten any rest for 17-19 hours has about the same cognitive function and reflexes as a driver who blows a .05 on a breathalyzer. Staying awake for an extra hour brings them even with a person who has a blood alcohol level of .1 percent. Some officers who have observed drowsy driving behavior report that tired drivers make scare them more than many of the drunk drivers they’ve arrested
The thought of people driving while tired in California makes Drew Warren, managing partner of a top personal injury firm with an office headquartered in California, shudder. “I’ve seen horrifying examples of what can happen as the result of drowsy driving. The worst part is that most of the drivers don’t even realize that they’re tired until they’re halfway to their destination and start falling asleep behind the wheel.”
It turned out that Back had suffered a concussion, a severe form of head and brain injury, during the game. When a person has suffered a concussion, it is necessary that they rest for a period and receive the correct amount of hydration and medicine so that there brain has a chance to recover from the injury. It is also vitally important that the injured person does not expose their brain to any more risk. Further blows to the head can damage the already fragile brain to a point at which it cannot recover.
Fortunately, brain damage has become a bigger topic in the news recently, especially in regards to high school football and lacrosse games. These sports pose a great risk to the health of the players because of the violence involved in the game play. It is a tragedy that this type of “keep playing,” attitude is still so prevalent, and it is terrible that so many people have received brain injuries that they cannot recover from. However, it is good that the issue is become more widespread. Moreover, people need to know about the dangers of concussions, so that they can prevent them in the future. People should seek the help of an attorney concerning the financial restitution they are entitled to receive, which can be a large asset in the numerous medical bills, as well as the heartache suffered by the family.
