On July 26, Hammond was driving a friend who was allegedly trying to sell a small amount of marijuana. The police claimed that the teen drove his Honda Civic at Lt. Mark Tiller to use his vehicle as a weapon, which prompted him to begin shooting. They also stated that he was shot at point blank range through his open driver’s side window.
A private autopsy indicated however, that Hammond was shot from behind, once in the left shoulder and once in the left side of his chest.
"The issues that surround the death of Zachary Hammond are issues of national significance," family attorneys Eric Bland and Ronald Richter Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. "While many other recent events have involved white on black police shootings, police brutality and the excessive use of force are race neutral issues."
These inconsistencies, as well as Seneca Police Chief John Covington referring to Tiller as an “attempted murder victim” while the incident is still under investigation have caused many, including the family to cry foul.
"Clearly this officer was not in any danger at the time he fired the two shots into the car, of being hit by the car," Bland told Yahoo News. "There was no gun. This officer was not being shot at."
"One of two things happened," Bland concluded. "The officer negligently thought there was a weapon in the car and there was not or he was angry at Zachary for not following his instructions or that Zachary was trying to flee so he shot him."
