Family, friends of Hemingway man killed by former police officer march to honor him
.jpg "The family of Robert Langley spoke during a “Stop Killing Us March” in which friends and community members gathered to honor Langley after a former Hemingway police officer shot and killed him in Georgetown County. It was held at the Boys and Girls Club in Hemingway.")
Community members, family and friends of a Black man who was fatally shot by a former Hemingway police officer in Georgetown County marched Saturday to honor his memory and call for justice.
Dozens gathered for the “Stop Killing Us” rally in front of the Boys and Girls Club in Hemingway, Robert Langley’s hometown. The 46-year-old died Feb. 6 after running a stop sign.
The march followed the funeral service at Hopewell AME Church in Hemingway on Friday.
Many wore blue shirts with “#StopKillingUs” printed on the front.
Others wore white or blue shirts that pictured Robert Langley with sayings, such as, “Justice for Robert Langley Jr.” and “Missing you always.”
Although marchers wore different clothes to show their support for the Langley family, all agreed on one thing: Robert Langley should still be alive.
Speakers Saturday included Doward Harvin, an attorney and executive committee member of the Williamsburg County NAACP.
His message: holding law enforcement accountable for Robert Langley’s death is not enough.
“That’s not the [only] justice that we want,” he said. “...The justice we want prevents men like Robert Langley from being killed and taken from their family — that’s the type of justice we’re asking for. The type of justice that sees these things about to happen and takes officers off the street who can harm individuals.”
Family members and friends remembered Robert Langley for his big smile and his generous heart.
Marshall Weaver, who knew Robert Langley since they were both in fifth grade at Pleasant Hill Middle School, grinned as he thought about his friend.
“He had the kind of smile that if he smiled, it made you smile, too,” he said. “He liked a good joke. He liked to joke around.”
Robert Langley, Weaver said, was a hardworking and honest man. While they’ve knew each other since they were little, Weaver said it wasn’t until they were adults that they became close friends.
He recalled the day it happened: His car had broken down, and he was stranded on the side of the road.
Until Langley stopped to help him and make sure he made it home safe.
“...Even though I was an attorney and he was a manual worker, we just had a bond through being good men.”
The former police sergeant arrested in Robert Langley’s death faces a voluntary manslaughter charge.
Cassandra Dollard, 52, was arrested and booked into the Georgetown County jail three days after Robert Langley’s death.
Dollard, who is Black, was fired from the department on Feb. 10. She was released on bond that same day after a Georgetown County judge set her bail at $150,000. That bond includes a no-contact order at the request of Bakari Sellers, the family’s attorney.
Dollard was pursuing Langley in a chase that crossed county lines, ultimately ending in a wreck at Choppee and Schoolhouse roads. The police pursuit started when Langley ran a stop sign about 1:24 a.m. on Sunday, according to Dollard’s arrest warrants.
Langley’s family, along with attorneys Sellers and state Sen. Gerald Malloy, held a press conference Feb. 9, calling for Dollard to be held responsible in Langley’s death.
“We do know he was taken from us in a cruel fashion — in an unjust fashion,” Sellers said. “We know that he was unarmed.”
The family and their attorneys viewed the dash camera footage, which has not been released to the public. They also met with 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the agency investigating the incident.
“From what we’ve seen today on that video we can tell you that we believe — and this family believes — a crime was committed,” Sellers said.
On Saturday, prior to chants of “Black Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace,” Robert Langley’s sister Nicola called his death unfair.
“I keep waiting to see that car pull up,” she said of her late brother.
Nicola spoke of her brother’s children, his grandchild and the memories they won’t get to share with him: graduations, weddings and child births.
“He isn’t [going to be] there to witness any of it,” Nicola told her fellow marchers.
“...If we don’t do something different, he won’t be the only one who’s missing out.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 5:17 PM.