ISSUE: Suspect’s statements about trooper shooting

OUR VIEW: Warped justification illustrates how dangerous is a trooper’s job

The bond hearing for a man accused of attempting to kill a Highway Patrol trooper illustrates how people look to justify outrageous behavior and the danger the behavior poses for law officers and the citizenry at large.

Anthony Donnell Glover, 21, of Columbia is accused of firing eight shots at Highway Patrol Trooper Quincy Brown in Orangeburg County on May 4. The incident grew from a traffic stop.

That Brown was not killed or seriously injured is miraculous. All can be thankful.

The officer made a traffic stop and was proceeding with arrests of the driver and a passenger when Glover allegedly opened fire from the car. Four shots struck Brown, one in the arm, two in the bulletproof vest and one in the radio.

Glover on Monday used his bond hearing to speak out about the events. He acknowledged firing the weapon at Brown, but said it was justified.

“I didn’t try to kill him,” Glover said. “I saw him messing with my uncle and it looked like he was pulling his gun. I seen that and I got scared. When I seen him, the gun went off and I started shooting.”

Glover cited the attention given by media to Highway Patrol videos in recent weeks. The agency has been under fire for questionable actions by officers during traffic stops.

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said such justification is “outrageous.” Agreed.

Pascoe sought to deny bond to Glover and the two men who were with him on Sunday. “I would just ask that his bond be denied for attempting to murder a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper,” Pascoe said.

The request was granted by the presiding magistrate. Glover is a man with a history of run-ins with the law in the Carolinas -- and clearly one who is quite dangerous.

Glover wasn’t finished talking, though. He showed his disdain for a system designed to protect us from those who would act as Glover is accused of on that Sunday.

When Pascoe said, “He doesn’t deserve a bond, he doesn’t deserve to get out of prison, Glover spoke up: “You understand, you see what I’m saying? You see his (Pascoe’s) attitude? I didn’t, come on, I swear. Ya’ll look at me like I’m just a criminal.”

Let’s not forget, as a state lawmaker wrote recently on this page, that officers are human beings. In the face of danger at virtually every turn, they remain professional in a vast majority of cases. Amid actions such as those faced by Brown a Sunday ago, that in itself is miraculous.

As SCHP Troop 7 commander Capt. Chris Williamson told the court: “We have troopers out there trying to protect the public and this is what we get.”

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