Sheriff cleared of violating policy in Wal-Mart shooting incident

Pickens County Sheriff Donald E. Craig has been cleared of any policy violation after his Glock discharged in Wal-Mart in December. However, the investigator did say the incident indicated a “policy failure” since the sheriff’s office failed to identify approved holsters for uniformed, on-duty personnel.

Craig was in Wal-Mart as part of the department’s “Shop with a Cop” program on Dec. 17, 2019, when his Glock 43 discharged. An investigation concluded the weapon, an agency issued back-up weapon, was holstered by a Techna Clip, a minimalist holster that only clips the gun to a waist, with no trigger guard.

According to the report there were no serious injuries when the gun discharged. The investigation concluded that Craig’s shirt may have caught the trigger, causing the gun to discharge.

According to a letter from B. Alison Sosebee, District Attorney for the Appalachian Judicial Circut, the final report was presented to the Grand Jury on Feb. 10 and was subsequently found there was no basis for any further investigation. The Grand Jury did make a recommendation that based upon best practices, the sheriff’s office should evaluate it’s firearm and holster policy.

Kris Stancil, public information officer for the PCSO office, said the department has just completed a new addendum to the weapons policy to cover requirements and inspections.

“We spoke with several agencies in surrounding counties and learned that they had the same issue in the policies and are now working on the same additions,” Stancill said.

For a more in-depth story, check back to fetchyournews.com.

Click Pickens County to check out the latest local news.