By Jeffrey Collins
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against a South Carolina police officer who shot a man in his home through a window while checking a medical alarm.
State Assistant Attorney General Jerrod Fussnecker wrote a letter last month saying Greenville County deputy Kevin Azzara was justified in the June 14 shooting.
Azzara was sent to the Simpsonville home to check on a medical alarm. He rang the doorbell, but no one answered.
Body camera video shows Azzara then saw homeowner Dick Tench in his foyer with a gun he could legally carry through a long, narrow window by the door.
Tench never fired. A sheriff’s spokesman originally said Tench opened the door with his gun, but later said he was mistaken and that information didn’t come from Azzara.