In the late summer of 1999, the life of a young law enforcement officer, 27-year-old Marcus Lyman Whitfield, was tragically cut short in Greenville, South Carolina. A male deputy with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, he was responding to a chaotic scene outside a Waffle House restaurant on August 13th. A fight had erupted, and upon arrival, Whitfield and two other deputies witnessed a man firing a handgun into the ground while another person was being assaulted.
As the deputies
moved in to control the situation, the gunman dropped his weapon and attempted to flee. While the deputies were securing the discarded firearm and struggling with one of the individuals involved, other suspects tried to escape in a vehicle. In their attempt to get away, the car struck one of the deputies, and then, an occupant of the vehicle opened fire on the officers. A bullet struck Deputy Whitfield in the base of his skull, killing him. A second deputy was also wounded, sustaining a gunshot to the shoulder, but was able to return fire at the fleeing car.
Later that same day, law enforcement officials located and apprehended the individuals in the vehicle. Two 19-year-old suspects were subsequently charged with murder. The legal proceedings that followed resulted in a conviction of voluntary manslaughter for one of the suspects, who was then sentenced to 25 years in prison. Charges against the second individual in the car were ultimately dropped. A third person, who was on probation at the time of the incident, was convicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
