Justice Department Launches Civil Rights Investigation into Shooting of Unarmed White Teen by Police

New details have emerged in the case of Zachary Hammond, an unarmed white teenager killed by the police after he was shot in the back.

The Post and Courier reports that after Hammond was shot by the police in the drive thru of a Seneca, South Carolina Hardee's an officer went to his crusier, got something out of the trunk, and went back to Hammond's dead body, turned it over, and placed the object under him.

The Courier's reporting is based on a witness cited by the Hammond family's lawyer, who has previously called for more attention to this case. The witness also said that the officers "high-fived" Hammond's dead body in some sort of sick, macabre joke.

The police had previously said Lt. Mark Tiller felt, "threatened" when he opened fire, hitting Hammond twice and killing him as he sat in his car. An independent autopsy by Hammond's family contradicts this because of the nature of his wounds, and critical details seem to have been left out of the official autopsy. Tiller had said that Hammond was driving his car toward him, leaving Tiller no choice but to open fire. If Hammond was indeed shot in the back, then this claim would seem to be invalid.

As the incident has gained more attention, the police have since stopped commenting on the matter.

Hammond's death is already being investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, a state agency that oversees local departments, and the United States Justice Department has also opened a civil rights investigation.

A video of the shooting exists, but has not been released despite repeated requests by both the Hammond family lawyer and Courier to view and make public the footage.