A South Carolina jury found police officer Cassandra Dollard not guilty Friday of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Robert Junior Langley, an unarmed man who was attempting to exit his wrecked car after a high-speed chase in February 2022. Dollard faced two to 30 years in prison if convicted. Dashboard camera footage captured the moments before the shooting as Langley’s head and chest emerged from the damaged vehicle.
A South Carolina jury found a police officer not guilty Friday of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed man who had fled a traffic stop and crashed his vehicle.
Cassandra Dollard, a former officer in Hemingway, was tried for killing Robert Junior Langley in February 2022. If convicted, she faced two to 30 years in prison. Dashboard camera footage captured the moments before the shooting as Langley’s head and chest emerged from his wrecked car.
The acquittal adds to a growing list of police shooting cases in which officers have been found not guilty or faced no charges, despite documented deaths resulting from police action.
The initial stop and chase
Dollard attempted to pull over Langley early one morning for running a stop sign. Langley did not stop. Dollard pursued the vehicle for more than five minutes, with the chase extending eight miles outside her small town’s jurisdiction and into the next county at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
When Langley’s car wrecked into a ditch, Dollard approached the damaged vehicle. The dashboard camera recorded her demanding Langley show his hands. Investigators say Langley was holding $100 in cash when he was killed.
Dollard’s account and charges
In her statement to investigators, Dollard said she felt vulnerable after slipping in mud as she approached the car. “I don’t know what he had in his hands. I just know he had something in his hands,” she told investigators.
Authorities charged Dollard, stating she did not need to pursue Langley for a low-level traffic offense or approach the vehicle the way she did.
Dollard had worked for six police agencies over a nearly 30-year law enforcement career and had been fired twice, according to police academy records.
Settlement and prosecutorial statement
Langley’s family received a $1 million wrongful death settlement from the insurer of the Hemingway Police Department, a town of 530 people in Williamsburg County.
Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said in a statement Friday: “These cases are never easy. We appreciate the service of the jury this week, and we respect the jury’s decision.”
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