Officials: Officers’ training kept
shooting from becoming deadly

April 5, 2006

By VIC MacDONALD and MEGAN VARNER
Of The Index-Journal staff

Greenwood police officers and county sheriff’s deputies who confronted an armed man firing a handgun across a busy intersection defused the potentially deadly situation by relying on what they had been trained to do, officials said.
“Training, training, training,” City Manager Steve Brown told Greenwood County Council this week was the key factor in deciding that no one would be killed Saturday when Sergio Gonzales allegedly opened fire on officers who stopped the red Camaro he was driving at the intersection of U.S. 25/Hampton Street and West Cambridge Avenue. Gonzales was suspected of being involved in a shooting earlier at Mineral Court Apartments.
Gonzales was wounded by at least one gunshot from responding officers, but his condition was unknown. He has been charged with seven counts of assault and battery with intent to kill and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
Gonzales was charged in 2002 with assault and battery with intent to kill and assault and battery of a police officer while resisting arrest, Greenwood Police Chief Gerald Brooks said.
The State Law Enforcement Division said an investigation into the officers’ conduct is still ongoing, and results will be turned over to the Solicitor’s Office once a report is completed.
Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace said that when he receives the investigation results, he will review the material to determine if there was a criminal violation committed and by whom it would have been committed.
Peace, who was at the scene Saturday, said if he determines there is probable cause to believe there has been a criminal violation, he would advise SLED of those results so the agency could charge the violating individual.
If Peace determines that there was no crime committed, he said the case would be closed.
Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Frederick said sheriff’s office will release the information it has developed about how the incident happened once the SLED report is released.
Often, Brown said, city employees and others in the public question why police officers and firefighters require an inordinate amount of training, much of it done during their time off and weekends.
“In this situation,” he said, “it is apparent the training had been completed in such a manner that it was about second nature to these guys. It just kicked in — they had trained so well to protect themselves, to protect the general public.”
When people question “why we train so much,” Brown said he would refer to the shootout and the “out of the blue” nature of the violence.
“It happens so infrequently that it’s easy to be complacent,” he said. “We were prepared.”
That’s not to say that when police and sheriff’s officials critique the situation they won’t find ways to improve the response, Brown said. “You could say why stop somebody like that at a busy intersection,” he said, “but where is a safe place?”
Brown said Chief Brooks called him at home when the incident happened to say no officer or onlooker was injured. “We don’t want anyone to become injured,” he said.
Brown called Mayor Floyd Nicholson and all city council members, getting the last member on the phone about 9 p.m., to let them know what had happened. “The first thing that happens is people stop them and say, ‘Why is Main Street blocked, and it’s been blocked for six or seven hours,’” he said. “If they don’t know, people ask, ‘Why don’t you know?’ That’s why I called them, especially since there was an exchange of gunfire, so they can do their jobs.”
Brooks agreed that training is a vital part of giving officers the tools they need to handle situations such as the weekend shooting near the Uptown area.
“Absolutely we have to train. It’s not optional,” Brooks said. “A key component of that training and instruction is officer safety and training the officers how to survive a life in law enforcement.”
Officers are sent to a police academy for a nine-week course designed to teach the fundamentals of police work, and officers receive additional instruction in a field training program once they arrive at the Greenwood Police Department, Brooks said.
“That will help that officer take what they have learned in the academy and adapt it to real world situations,” Brooks said of the field training, which places rookies with veteran officers on the force. “The (veteran officers) are there with them as a guide.”
Regularly, officers with the police department and other agencies, including the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, conduct training seminars and demonstrations, such as one the agencies performed Tuesday at the Greenwood County Airport. It is designed to give officers and deputies an opportunity to practice situations that require support from more than one law enforcement agency.
That practice, Brooks said, is “invaluable.”
“If you know how other officers are trained, when you respond to a crisis situation, you’ll have a better idea of what the other officers are going to do,” he said.
But training in a controlled scenario can be very different from executing that training in a rapidly-developing, real-life situation.
“When something happens so suddenly and unexpectedly, there is not a lot of time to do anything other than that which is instinctive,” Brooks said. “That is really what a lot of this training is all about ... The officers train so that it becomes instinctive, so that when a situation plays out in front of them, they don’t have to think about acting — they do it without conscious thought.”
Frederick agreed, saying “you can train all day long, but you have to have guys who can execute (what they’ve learned).”
He said cooperation between agencies helped police and deputies outnumber the suspect in Saturday’s shooting, giving law enforcement the ability to keep the situation from escalating.
“We had guys who had worked together before and we didn’t even have to talk to each other. Everybody instinctively knew” to continue using suppressive fire to keep the man in place, Frederick said.
That sort of teamwork between agencies is critical, Brooks added.
“Cooperation is the backbone of law enforcement. You have to have it for the good of the community,” he said, adding that the law enforcement agencies serving Greenwood city and county have “always worked well together.”
That cooperation, he said, was “clearly visible” in Saturday’s incident.
Staff Writer Joanie Baker contributed to this article.

Making an impact

Area seventh-, eighth-graders contributing on varsity teams

April 5, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

Many middle school students across Greenwood and the Lakelands area attend varsity high school sporting events, dreaming of the day when they will don the colors of their favorite school. For some seventh- and eighth-graders, that day is already here.
Across the Lakelands, there are middle school and junior high school students dotting the rosters of varsity squads. The young competitors take part in nearly every spring sport offered, from golf to baseball to track and field. The lone execption is soccer.
There are a handful middle-schoolers who have been critical to the success of their teams.
At Emerald, Westview students Caroline Marcengill, an eighth-grader, and Sydney Robinson, a seventh-grader, are making serious mark as distance runners on the track team. According to assistant track coach David Payne, Marcengill is undefeated in the 1,600 and 800 meter races she has run this season, while Robinson is undefeated in the 3,200.
“Those two are sort of like a naive child, in that they don’t know what pain is,” Payne said.
“They do whatever I ask them to do out here. They have a good attitude and they really work hard to win and to get better.”
Both runners achieved a milestone in a meet last month against Calhoun Falls and McCormick.
Marcengill broke a school record in the 1,600, recording a time of 5 minutes, 50 seconds.
Robinson was right behind, tying the old record with a time of 5:57.
“Coach Payne really helps us out,” said Marcengill, who is in her second year on the team. “We’ve been working on our times. So, it felt good to get the record.”
Both Marcengill and Robinson said they had not run seriously before joining the team. Neither set out to be a distance runner, saying things just kind of fell in place.
“I played soccer, which requires lots of running and endurance,” Robinson said. “So, my parents thought distance running would be a good fit.”
At Ware Shoals High School, eighth-grader Stevie Hill is making a key impact on the Hornets’ varsity baseball team.
Hill bats leadoff for the Hornets and, as an everyday starter, alternates time playing left field, shortstop, first base and pitching. Ware Shoals coach Vic Lollis said the eighth-grader is on his varsity squad for one simple reason: the team needs his talents.
“Stevie has absolutely been a big help this year,” Lollis said. “He’s one of the top three or four batters we have and he is improving in the field all the time. He’s going to be a really good ball player.”
Hill said he tried out for the team this season nearly on a whim. The eighth-grader said he had planned to play jayvee, but one of his buddies talked him into going out for the varsity.
“It’s been great playing against the older guys,” Hill said. “We’ve played some tough teams. It can only make me better.”
Though he hasn’t yet reached high school, Hill already has his sights set on college. He said he has grown up as a fan of the University of South Carolina baseball program, and said he would like to be a Gamecock some day.
Hill said he hopes playing an extra year of varsity baseball will help him accomplish his lofty goal.
“Playing against varsity teams will help make me stronger, hopefully,” said Hill, with a mitt signed by the 2005 South Carolina baseball team perched on his left hand. “It can’t hurt to have an extra year of experience.”

Opinion

Observations ... and other reflections

April 5, 2006

One day a grand jury in Greenwood indicts two brothers on charges of trafficking in methamphetamines ..... cited as directors of a meth importation ring connected to Mexico, the indictment said.
The next day there’s a shootout near Uptown Greenwood, apparently between an immigrant and local law enforcement officers.
That’s big city-stuff, the kind you see at the movies. It’s out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, people in Greenwood and the Lakelands area could be forgiven if they wonder sometimes if more of that kind of crime is going on but not released as public information.

* * * * *

A principal of a high school in Colorado has banned the American flag at the school. She says it’s a symbol of bigotry and represents a president that is breaking the law by ordering intelligence agencies to listen in on telephone conversations between suspected terrorists.
Therefore, it’s not fit to be flown at her school, she says.
How many ways could there be for her to be fired? It doesn’t matter, Pick one, and do it. * * * * *

Do voters in South Carolina get the respect they should? Sometimes it seems not. Example: It could be in any county, of course, but this time it’s the Kershaw County School Board considering a plan to get around the law that requires voters to approve borrowing large amounts of money. The money would be used for school improvements.
Apparently the plan is legal, even though voters would have to pay higher taxes to pay off bonds issued by a nonprofit organization created by the School Board.
Regardless of the purpose - good or bad - what good are laws that supposedly help taxpayers if ways are left to get around them?
Frustration with government? Why would anyone think that!

* * * * *

Surprise! Iran is at it again. This time it says it has successfully tested a high-speed, unstoppable torpedo. It carries multiple warheads.
Considering Iran’s support for terrorist organizations and its ever-present threat to Israel , the U. S. and indeed the future of the world, how important is it for us to establish a stable Iraq next door to Iran?
The answer to that should be obvious, even to Iraq critics.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.

Obituaries

James Brown

AUGUSTA, Ga. — James Brown, 67, of 2411 Harwick Court, widower of Carrie Pearl Wideman Brown, died Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at University Hospital in Augusta.
Born in Harlem, Ga., he was a member of Second Mount Moriah Baptist Church, Harlem, and retired from Graniteville Mills, Augusta.
Survivors include a daughter, Sharon Denise Brown of Augusta; four sisters, Susan Brown, Mary Platt, Vivian Brown and Robbie Mae Johnson and two brothers, Robert Brown and Andrew Brown, all of Georgia; five grandchildren.
Services are 3:30 p.m. Thursday at New Holt Baptist Church, Harlem. Burial is in Second Mount Moriah Baptist Church Cemetery, Harlem.
The family is at the home and at the home of a sister-in-law, the Rev. Amanda E. Drennon, 208 McKellar Drive, Greenwood, S.C.
Thomson Funeral System, Thomson, is in charge.
Announcement courtesy of Parks Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Christine Humphreys

GREENWOOD — Christine Alice Reynolds Humphreys, 68, resident of 417 Willson Street, wife of Thomas Walter “T.W.” Humphreys, died April 3, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in Edgefield County July 24, 1937, she was a daughter of the late George Daniel and Edna Louise Dorn Reynolds. She and her husband, both now retired, worked side-by-side for thirty five years as local business owners of T.W. Mobile Home Sales. She was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Plum Branch.
Surviving in addition to her husband of the home are two children and six grandchildren that include her daughter, Janie Louise Humphreys Callison and her four children, George Preston, III, Christina Alice, Cathleen Mae and Caroline Jane Callison. Her son, Steven Thomas and wife Angela Humphreys of Greenwood and their two children, Heath Thomas and Holden Steven Humphreys. Also surviving are her three sisters, Mary Ellen Herrin and Doris Anne Hegler of McCormick and Evelyn Viola Murray of Greenwood. She was pre-deceased by her brother, George Daniel Reynolds, Jr.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 AM Thursday, April 6, 2006 at the Oakbrook Memorial Park Chapel Mausoleum with Rev. Sam Marcengill of Aiken, SC officiating.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 6-8 PM Wednesday evening.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Jane, 304 Old Abbeville Highway.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.
PAID OBITUARY

Mike Mason

GREENVILLE — Alva Michael “Mike” Mason, 53, of 2 Evergreen, husband of Kathy Pinson Mason, died Friday, March 31, 2006 at his home.
Born in Greenville, he was a former pressman with The Greenville News and was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include his wife of Greenwood and two stepsons, Clifford Duane Cox Jr. of Mount Airy, N.C., and Shawn Craig Cox of Greenwood.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com

Martha Owens

HODGES — Martha Owens, 67, of Morgan Road, died Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
A daughter of the late Berry Blease and Thelma Brown Owens, she was a member of Hodges Church of God.
Survivors include a brother, Ronald B. Owens of Hodges and a sister, Doris Godfrey of Greenville.
Services are 4 p.m. today at Parker-White Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Charles Caldwell. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Visitation is 2:30-4 today at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to Hodges Church of God, 134-A Nicole Drive, Hodges, SC 29653.
Parker-White Funeral Home, Ware Shoals, is in charge.