Crime & Safety
Graphic Video: Greenville County Patrol Car Sprayed With Bullets In Shootout
Deputies released dashboard footage of the shooting, which they say removes any questions about the officers' actions.
GREENVILLE, SC — Nine officers have been cleared in the death of a man who killed a woman on a busy Greenville highway last month and then used her body as a human shield in a shootout with officers, a Greenville County sheriff said.
Ramiro Ramirez "came to do battle," killing the woman July 14 and then firing on responding officers before they could even exit their cars on White Horse Road near the Thomas McAfee Funeral Home - Cremation Center, Sheriff Will Lewis said at a news conference Friday. Ramirez hid behind 25-year-old Candy Rosario's body, reloading once as he sprayed bullets at deputies, Lewis said.
The shootout ended when Ramirez, 34, shot himself in the head, Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans said. Below is video provided by the sheriff's office and obtained by The Greenville News. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
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WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW:
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Since the State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting, Sheriff Lewis said he doesn't know exactly how many shots his officers fired or whether any of them struck Rosario.
The nine deputies followed all police rules and he reinstated them to active duty 11 days after the shooting, Lewis said. The criminal investigation into the shootings continues, the sheriff said. But Lewis left little doubt he felt like the shooting was legal.
"I don't think we could have prevented this, ever," the sheriff said.
Ramirez and Rosario were in a romantic relationship before the shooting, Lewis said.
Authorities released dashboard footage of the shooting, which Lewis said will remove any questions about the officers' actions. There is also body camera footage, but it shows graphic scenes like Ramirez's death and deputies dragging a badly wounded Rosario away and Lewis said he won't release that video.
"When they were dragging her away she became exposed," Lewis said. "I just don't want that video out there for the victim's family."
Image via Shutterstock
Video via The Greenville News