Feds sit on area cases

State investigators reportedly were ready months ago to clear the police officer who fatally shot former Cottageville Mayor Bert Reeves, but a slow-moving federal review has delayed a resolution and stoked community frustration.

Nearly eight months have passed since Reeves died on a dusty dirt road near Town Hall, shot in the chest by Officer Randy Price. Police noted signs of a struggle and rumors swirled about bad blood between the controversial politician and the cop with the checkered past.

But exactly what led to the killing has been a mystery, with officials working to keep a tight lid on the facts as residents press for answers.

Current Cottageville Mayor Margaret Steen told Town Council members in a Sept. 4 email that the State Law Enforcement Division had completed its investigation of the May 16 shooting and planned to recommend "total exoneration" for Price.

Steen stated in the email that she had received this news in a "verbal report" from SLED. She told council members to keep quiet about the pending recommendation, but The Post and Courier obtained a copy of her email late last week.

Steen refused to discuss the email or confirm its contents, saying the message -- if indeed hers -- was sent in confidence.

SLED officials said they knew of no agents who had briefed Steen about a possible recommendation in the case. SLED declined further comment, saying the case is still under review by federal prosecutors.

The Reeves case is one of two area police shootings being examined by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Justice Department for possible criminal and civil rights violations. The other case involves the killing of 54-year-old Bernard Bailey, who was shot by police in Eutawville on May 2.

The various investigations and federal reviews have dragged on for months with little or no new information released in the two cases. And that is stoking frustrations in the low-profile towns where these high-profile shootings occurred.

Steen, who is Reeves' aunt, said the delay has been difficult on her rural Colleton County town and has left everyone involved in a state of limbo.

"They're just sitting on it," she said. "It's not fair to the town, it's not fair to the (Reeves) family and it's not fair to the officer and his family."

Hungry for answers

According to Steen's Sept. 4 email, SLED agents planned to turn over their report to 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone within 10 days for consideration. Stone's office said he never saw the report, as it went straight to federal prosecutors for consideration.

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who oversees Orangeburg County, said the same thing happened with SLED's report on the Bailey shooting in Eutawville.

Neither the U.S. Attorney's Office nor the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division would offer a prediction last week on when the review process would be completed.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Beth Drake declined to comment on the cases, saying it is her office's policy to "not comment on or even confirm investigations."

Price, who had cycled through eight jobs in 11 years, never returned to duty after fatally shooting the 40-year-old Reeves on that spring afternoon. The resulting controversy nearly led the town to disband its small police department this past summer.

Price was laid off in September, but the details surrounding his May confrontation with Reeves remain murky.

Mullins McLeod, a Charleston attorney representing Reeves' family, said the former mayor's relatives are distressed by the length of time it is taking to get answers about his death. McLeod said federal authorities recently told him the FBI is still waiting for the go-ahead from Justice Department officials before beginning its own investigative work on the case.

"The family is frustrated because they feel the investigation should be further along than it is," he said. "They feel like nothing is happening."

Another long wait

That frustration is mirrored in Eutawville, where residents await answers in the killing of Bailey, who was shot during a confrontation with Eutawville Police Chief Ricky Combs in the parking lot of that community's Town Hall.

Authorities have said next to nothing about how the shooting transpired or what prompted the decision to use deadly force. Bailey, a former correctional officer and father of two, was shot three times.

His friends have said the shooting apparently stemmed from a dispute over a traffic ticket issued to one of Bailey's daughters, but officials have refused to discuss the case.

Eutawville officials named a new police chief in November, and it remains unclear whether Combs resigned or was fired. Mayor Jean Akers again declined to comment on the case last week.

State NAACP President Lonnie Randolph said he regularly fields phone calls from Eutawville residents concerned about the status of the Bailey investigation. The situation hasn't been helped by the fact that town officials "have not been very forthright with them" about the case and past problems with policing in the town, he said.

"The family, in particular, deserves to have some resolution to this," he said.

Still, Randolph said he has confidence in SLED and the federal justice system to conduct a fair and thorough inquiry. "While I am somewhat impatient, I would rather this be handled in an effective, efficient and professional manner."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or Twitter.com/glennsmith5.