Deputies cleared in Greentown shooting
Last Updated on 3/20/2010
Published on 7/20/2008
By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com
The two Georgetown County deputies who have been on administrative duty since being involved in a deadly shooting have been cleared of any wrongdoing by the 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
As a result of the ruling, Sgt. Dustin Morris and Deputy James Lee-Wood have been allowed to return to patrols, said Sheriff Lane Cribb.
Morris and Lee-Wood responded to the Greentown Community April 18 after 59-year-old Luke Gamble reportedly stabbed his neighbor, 24-year-old Harold James Smith who survived the attack.
According to the incident report written by Morris, he and Lee-Wood were sent to 280 Lincolnshire Drive. As they approached, the deputies saw Smith on the front steps of his home covered in blood. He had been stabbed, reportedly in the neck and arm.
He was still conscious so the deputies questioned him about who stabbed him while EMS was en route. A witness pointed to Gamble who, at that time, was standing in front of his house across the street at 18 Oxford Drive.
As the officer began to walk towards Gamble's residence, he started walking towards them "at a fast pace," the report states.
"As (Gamble) came into clear view, I observed he was holding a knife in his right hand and a long wooden stick in his left hand," Morris states. "I then drew my department-issued handgun and pointed it at the subject. I immediately instructed (Gamble) to drop the knife."
Gamble, the report states, disregarded the order and continued holding the knife with the tip up.
"(Gamble) then made the statement 'you are gonna have to shoot me' ... and he showed no signs of stopping," the report states.
The deputies began walking backwards "to maintain a reactionary gap" between themselves and Gamble.
When he still refused to stop, Morris fired one round and although the bullet struck Gamble, he continued his approach towards the officers with the knife.
Even after the second shot was fired by Morris, Gamble remained on his feet and did not drop the knife, the report states.
Lee-Wood then fired a shot which also struck Gamble but he continued holding the knife.
Morris then fired the final shot and Gamble then fell on the ground, still grasping the knife. The wooden stick was underneath his body.
Gamble was then placed in handcuffs and the knife was removed from his hand and placed on the road beside him.
From the beginning, Sheriff Cribb said he felt the officers "did the right thing."
The investigation was conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. When the inquest was complete, a report on the findings was given to Solicitor Greg Hembree to determine if criminal charges were warranted.
Cribb received a letter Friday from Hembree informing him no wrongdoing on the part of either officer was found to have taken place.
"Sheriff Cribb has released (them) from administrative duty and allowed them to return to their normal duties," a press release states.
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INTO WALK IN THE LIFE OF LUKE GAMBLE U CANT SAY NOTHING. YES MY GOES OUT TO THAT YOUNG MAN BUT DO ANYONE REALLLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT.ONE THINGS FOR SURE A MAN WAS GUNNED DOWN LIKE A DOG.A HOW DO U HANDCUFF A DIED MAN,TELL ME THAT THEY KNOW HE WAS DIED BY THE MINI GUN SHOTS. Posted by joy wright on 8/2/2008 |
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It is ALWAYS the family of the criminal who yells the loudest about the victimization of their poor, misunderstood loser who was FORCED to sit in jail and chose not use the library or any other means freely available to improve himself. Then, when the sorry loser gets out and causes more problems, it's the Sheriff's men, or Police department who are wrong? Give me a break. He's costing us less money now than when he was alive. The deputies were under a lot of stress while on leave. If they got in a fight with each other, so what? Posted by Oh, Puhleeeese on 7/22/2008 |
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A LIFE IS A LIFE!!. REGARDLESS IF THE LIFE IS THAT OF A "CAREER CRIMINAL". Yes he committed those heinous crimes and he spent the most productive years of his life paying for them. In my opinion, if Mr. Gamble was given some modicum of rehabilitation while serving time for those crimes instead of being locked behind bars like most "Black" men are, then maybe, just maybe , years could've been shaved off his life as a career criminal. I am greatly concerned about the young man that was attacked and truly grateful his wound was not fatal! There are many, many more around these parts that fits the profile of the "career criminals" - are they all going to be gunned down whenever there is a confrontation with those in authority? Are they going to have a stick and a knife and end up with three gun shots and handcuffs? God help us all!! and yes, that includes the criminals as well. Posted by There was a loss on 7/22/2008 |
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When did Luke Gamble become the victim? Luke Gamble was a career criminal. He had spent most of his adult life in prison. He had served time for manslaughter, it was actually murder, but he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge. When he tried to kill another young man, he had only been out of jail for ten month after serving time for assault and drug possession. The deputies were correct in using deadly force, Luke Gamble has just tried to kill someone and he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, so what did he have to lose, if he killed a couple of deputies. I am appalled that some of you are so concern about Luke and not at all concerned about the young man that nearly lost his life at Luke’s hand. You want to blame the police, but when someone like Luke kills one of your family members, you will ask, “why didn’t the police do something to stop them?”. If the family is upset, maybe they should place the blame where it should be, on Luke’s shoulder, he made this mess, the same as he had for the last thirty years, and once again he left his family holding the bag. Posted by No Big Loss on 7/22/2008 |
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Now we see how thigs work here in georgetown. What happen to tasers? why would you need to fire that many shots into this man. i think that is wrong. you mean to tell me that those two officers could not contant this gentleman without using deadly force, yeah right. tell that one to someone else. i think these police need to re-evaulate the way that they do things and think about the people that there doing them too. Posted by THE WAY THINGS WORK on 7/22/2008 |
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They would have a lot more credibility if they hadn't been in a bar brawl at 2 in the morning while on leave.What ever happened to the investigation we were promised on that? Weaver said they would make the findings public. Posted by and? on 7/22/2008 |
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The way I see it, if you threaten an officer with deadly force, you should expect deadly force to be used against you. The police have to use a level of force that's equal to the threat against them. Posted by Reasonable Force on 7/21/2008 |
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This is just exponentially sad - and not just because a life was needlessy taken, not to mention a young man wrongfully stabbed - but because it took two deputies, three shots AND a pair of handcuffs. What ever happened to tasers? Posted by saddened on 7/21/2008 |
