SC cop charged with killing unarmed man in Georgetown posts bond, released from jail
A South Carolina police officer charged with shooting and killing an unarmed Black man has been released from jail after posting bond, according Georgetown County Detention Center records.
Cassandra Dollard, 52, was charged with voluntary manslaughter and booked into Georgetown County jail Wednesday afternoon. She was released on bond before noon Thursday, the jail website shows.
A Georgetown County judge set Dollard’s bail at $150,000 Thursday morning. Her bond includes a no-contact order at the request of the Langley family attorney.
As a sergeant for the Hemingway Police Department, Dollard is accused of shooting Robert Langley, 46, more than eight miles outside of her jurisdiction after a police chase. Dollard is Black.
The bond hearing was live-streamed by WPDE-TV.
Langley was shot and killed Sunday after a police chase that began in Williamsburg County ended with a car crash in Georgetown County.
Rose Mary Parham, a Florence attorney representing Dollard, expressed condolences on behalf of her client during the bond hearing.
“Cassandra (Dollard) is very sorry for what happened Sunday morning. She grieves with the Langley family,” Parham said.
State Senator Gerald Malloy, who represents the Langley family, said the case was one of the worst police shootings he had seen in more than 30 years of experience.
“I’ve seen a lot of police shootings. This is one of the most egregious. Unarmed man, eight miles plus out of your jurisdiction,” Malloy said.
Civil Rights attorney Bakari Sellers, representing the Langley family, implied that Dollard should not have been a police officer, citing her previous firings from two law enforcement agencies in South Carolina.
“This was a failure by the entire criminal justice system,” Sellers said at the bond hearing. “[Dollard] should not have been on the road.”
Dollard was fired in 1993 from Williamsburg County Detention Center for poor performance, according to records from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.
Dollard also was terminated Sept. 11, 2014 from her job with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety as a corporal for the State Transport Police, according to documents filed in a federal lawsuit.
Robert Langley’s mother, Roslyn Langley, broke down crying while requesting the judge set the “highest bond possible” for Dollard.
She said the father of 10 loved and took care of his family.
“I love my son with all my heart. When they came and told me he was killed unjustified, it killed me,” Roslyn Langley said.
“Nobody understands what I’m going through right now. My son means the world to me.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 10:25 AM.
