SLED clears officer, releases bodycam footage in fatal shooting of nearly naked SC man

The South Carolina police officer who shot and killed an underwear-clad man in Pendleton, S.C., on April 3 is returning to active duty, according to a news release from the Pendleton Police Department.

An investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division determined “there is no evidence of criminal intent on the part of” Cpl. John Marano from the incident.

“Solicitor (David) Stumbo’s review concludes that Officer Marano’s actions were not unreasonable, therefore lacks prosecutorial merit in a criminal court of law,” a SLED agent wrote in a letter stating the case has been closed.

Now that the case is closed, Pendleton Police also have released Marano’s bodycam footage from the shooting.

Marano was en route to a domestic violence call when he was flagged down by a “visibly upset female jogger who stated a man in his underwear had chased her,” the department says.

When he arrived at Woodland Circle and Poplar Street, he spotted the suspect — later identified as Jose Antonio Hernandez — approaching his patrol car, according to the news release.

Marano got out of his vehicle and began shouting verbal commands at Hernandez.

“Let me see your hands, now!” Marano can be heard telling Hernandez in the bodycam video. “Put your hands on the car. Put ‘em on the car!”

The video shows that Hernandez ignored the commands.

“Put ‘em on the goddamn car!” Marano shouts. “Put your hands on the car. Get down on the ground now!”

Hernandez continues to disregard the officer’s instructions and attempts to get into the patrol car. Marano uses his taser in an attempt to stop Hernandez but it doesn’t have the desired effect, as Hernandez gets into the patrol car and puts it into gear.

“Get out of the car!” Marano repeats several times. Hernandez continues to ignore his commands.

Marano then fires his weapon multiple times.

“Shots fired, shots fired, he’s gotten into my car,” Marano radios to dispatch. “Need additional units.”

After reviewing the video and the rest of the evidence of the case, SLED determined the fatal shooting was “not unreasonable.”

In his closing letter, Solitor David Stumbo said that “the events immediately preceding the shooting are critical” in showing Marano had no criminal intent.

Some of those events were not visible in the bodycam video. Citing police and SLED reports, Stumbo wrote that after Hernandez entered the patrol car, he tried to grab a rifle stored inside.

“When Hernandez attempted to access the semi-automatic rifle on the rack in the vehicle and drive away, Officer Marano fired his service weapon to defuse a lethal threat to both himself and the public,” Stumbo wrote. “At the point that he deployed his service weapon, Hernandez was in control of two deadly weapons: the rifle and the patrol vehicle.”

As part of the investigation, Hernandez’s DNA was found “on the rifle’s magazine and trigger.”

“Toxicology reports showed the presence of marijuana, methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine and methadone in Mr. Hernandez’s system,” the news release says.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 5:33 PM with the headline "SLED clears officer, releases bodycam footage in fatal shooting of nearly naked SC man."