Sovereign citizens: Closer than you know Growing movement worries law enforcement officials $1.50
SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015
SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894
BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com Lee County Sheriff Daniel Simon remembers the calls for help ringing out over the police scanner. And they were immediately followed by silence. Simon was in Darlington County — about 20 minutes north of Bishopville — at the time, and his mind instantly began racing. Two of his deputies had just been shot while
IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!
Readers’ Choice SEE OUR AD IN TODAYS PAPER FOR DEATILS
serving arrest warrants on a suspect during a traffic stop along S.C. 441. “I had to come all the way from Hartsville, blue light siren on, wondering how the officers were because nobody was really saying anything,” he recalled. “That’s the worst thing, listening to the radio when they came up on the radio and said that they’d been shot. And then it goes silent. Nobody else says anything.”
As the seconds ticked away with nothing transmitting across the airwaves, anxiety sets in, and Simon said he began reflecting on his relationships with the officers. Sgt. Leroy Durant was part of his graduating class and a life-long friend. He and Cpl. Shante Demary often attended gospel concerts together with their respective families.
SEE CITIZENS, PAGE A8
“By his wounds, you have been healed.” — 1 Peter 2:24
5 SECTIONS, 36 PAGES | VOL. 120 NO. 145
I’ve got the golden one Photos from local Easter egg hunts A3
He’s been to how many Civil War battlefields? A6 POOR CREDIT?
New scoring system may help A7 DEATHS, A11 John M. Ingram David J. McCall
Anna B. G. Ball Elaine Hannibal KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
A man representing Jesus is raised on the cross during Bethesda Church of God’s annual Easter Program titled “Holding on To Me.” The church, located at 2730 Broad St., will present the show one more time at 10:45 a.m. today.
WEATHER, A12 PLENTY OF SUNSHINE FOR YOUR EASTER SUNDAY Partly cloudy tonight. HIGH 71, LOW 51
INSIDE
CONTACT US
Business D1 Classifieds D5 Comics E1 Lotteries A12 Opinion A10 Panorama C1
Info: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1237 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News and Sports: 774-1226
VISIT US ONLINE AT the
.com
S.C. college student suspended over racial slur COLUMBIA (AP) — The University of South Carolina says it has suspended a student over a photo showing a racial slur being written on a board in a campus study room. Multiple media outlets reported President Harris Pastides announced the suspension Friday. Pastides said the unidentified student also faces university code of conduct investigations. He said the school’s Board of Trustees also endorsed the action.
A school spokesman wouldn’t comment on whether the student faces expulsion. The photo shows a white female student writing the slur directed at blacks on a whiteboard and blaming them, among other reasons, for the university’s poor wireless Internet connections. While not identified by the school, the student’s name was shared on social media posts that included angry comments about the slur and the
student. “Today, the unfortunate and disappointing act of a student in a study room has challenged the Carolina community to reflect on our values and tell the world what we believe,” Pastides said in a statement. “Respect for all is at the heart of the Carolinian Creed, the code by which we agree to abide. Racist and uncivil rhetoric have no place at the University of South Carolina.” The picture marked
the third such incident in the past week. Bucknell University expelled three students for making racist comments during a March 20 campus radio broadcast. At Duke University, a noose was found hanging from a tree. A student has admitted to placing the noose on the tree, and school officials say that person is no longer on campus, although disciplinary actions are pending and criminal charges are under consideration.