May 2, 2015

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IN SPORTS: Sumter takes on Summerville in 4A state playoffs

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Disabled men plant thousands of trees The friends have been at it for more than a decade in China A6

SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894

SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015

75 CENTS

Nurse bills not likely to pass Manning’s Rep. Ridgeway discusses 4 issues causing concerns, hangups BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com Two bills introduced in the South Carolina House of Representatives concerning the duties and responsibilities of advance practice registered nurses have thrown a spotlight on a divide between the South Carolina

medical and nurses’ associations. Each bill would allow APRNs to perform some duties such as ordering hospice care, certifying an individual as handicapped, referring patients to physical therapists and providing prescription drugs (under certain circumstances). APRNs are prohibited from per-

forming those duties under state law. House Bill 3508, introduced by Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and supported by the S.C. Medical Association, would add additional regulations and create a Joint APRN Committee to approve written practice agreements, while House Bill 3078, introduced by Rep. Jenny Horne, R-Summerville, and

supported by the S.C. Nurses Association, would remove many of the requirements for written protocols and physician supervision APRNs must obtain under current law. Rep. Robert Ridgeway, D-Manning, a practicing physician, said there are

SEE NURSES, PAGE A7

Community will mark Derby Day FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter will host its own version of “Run for the Roses” at 8 a.m. today to kick off Derby Day Sumter, an annual fundraising event for United Way of Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. Only the Sumter version will be in the form of a 5K run and fun walk for people, not horses. But some will think “horses” will be in the race because it’s part of the Sumter Road Race Series which has a one-time fee of $100 for participating in eight city races. Normal registration fee for this race is $25 for participants age 13 and older. Children age KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM

SEE DERBY, PAGE A7 Jeremy Collins, owner of Party in a Tent, assembles the dance floor for Saturday’s Derby Day celebration in downtown Sumter.

6 Baltimore officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death BY JULIET LINDERMAN AND AMANDA LEE MYERS The Associated Press BALTIMORE — Rage turned to relief in Baltimore on Friday when the city’s top prosecutor charged six police officers with felonies ranging from assault to murder in the death of Freddie Gray. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Gray’s arrest was illegal and unjustified and that his neck was broken because he was handcuffed, shackled and placed head-first into a police van, where his pleas for medical attention were repeatedly ignored as he bounced around inside the small metal box. The swiftness of her announcement, less than a day after receiving the police department’s internal review and official autopsy results, took the city by surprise. So too did her detailed description, based in part on her office’s independent investigation, of the evidence supporting probable cause to charge all six officers with felonies. The police had no reason to stop or chase after Gray, Mosby said. They falsely accused him of having an illegal switchblade when in fact it was a legal pocketknife. The van driver and the other offi-

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Residents celebrate Friday after State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody in Baltimore. Mosby announced the stiffest charge, second-degree depraved heart murder, against the driver of the police van. Other officers faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault and illegal arrest. cers failed to strap him down with a seatbelt, a direct violation of department policy, and they ignored Gray’s repeated pleas for medical attention, even rerouting the van to pick up another passenger. The officers missed five opportunities to help an injured and falsely imprisoned detainee before he arrived at the police station no longer breath-

ing, she said. Along the way, “Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon,” she concluded. Her announcement triggered celebrations across the same West Baltimore streets that were smoldering just four days earlier, when Gray’s fu-

DEATHS, A7 Debra B. Stone Lula F. Donovan Junior Lee Hodge Marion Clavon Willie Slater Margaret Wilson

Mary Marine Lillie Mae Mack Leverne Reed Celeste M. Hubbard Dan Wells Jr. Harry Lee McDonald

neral led to riots and looting. But a lawyer hired by the police union insisted the officers did nothing wrong. Attorney Michael Davey said Friday that Mosby has committed “an egregious rush to judgment.” “We have grave concerns about the fairness and integrity of the prosecution of our officers,” Davey said.

Mosby rejected a police union request to step aside and appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case, and said honorable police officers should have no problem working with prosecutors in Baltimore. Other law enforcement veterans worried that the charges could have a chilling effect. Robert Leight, a former detective in Pennsylvania who has worked for the FBI and as a federal prosecutor and defense attorney, said “the biggest danger is that the police officer will not properly perform his duties.” “It puts him at risk, it puts the other officers around him at risk, and it puts the public at risk,” Leight said. “A police officer must react instinctively as he has been trained. If a police officer first thinks about what liabilities he will be facing, it’s too late.” Gray was stopped by police in Sandtown, a poor, overwhelmingly black neighborhood in West Baltimore. He locked eyes with a police officer and then ran. Two blocks later, they pinned him to the sidewalk, handcuffed him and dragged him into a transport van, a scene captured on bystander

SEE CHARGES, PAGE A5

WEATHER, A8

INSIDE

WARMING UP

2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 168

Sunshine and pleasant during the day. Mainly clear this evening. HIGH 79, LOW 53

Classifieds B7 Comics B6

Lotteries A8 Television B5


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