Ex-NYPD Cop Shot Man Dead outside Restaurant after Heated Physical Altercation in South Carolina, Cop’s Wife also involved as she Restrained Victim from Leaving
Summerville, SC: A former NYPD cop shot and killed an unarmed man outside a Chick-fil-A. The officer began his career with the New York Police Department and was presently serving in the South Carolina Police Department.
The incident happened on Wednesday and the cop was off-duty when the incident happened.
The 39-year-old victim, Michael O’Neal, was shot and killed on March 20 while attempting to run from an altercation with Anthony DeLustro, an off-duty officer from the Summerville Police Department.
After the fatal altercation, 64-year-old DeLustro attempted to assert self-defense by claiming he was afraid for the safety of his wife and the neighborhood.
According to an affidavit submitted by the state agency, video evidence and interviews with eyewitnesses demonstrate that the officer “did kill the victim with malice aforethought.”
According to the document, multiple witnesses testified that DeLustro was “the primary aggressor” in the altercation that ensued in the fast food joint’s parking lot and that he reportedly murdered O’Neal as he tried to flee.
Meanwhile, onlookers attempted to disperse the males, who subsequently engaged in a fistfight. As they grappled, DeLustro attempted to provide O’Neal with his Summerville police identification and informed him that he was being arrested, as stated in the affidavit.
It is said in the paper that during the altercation, the officer’s department pistol slipped from his holster and landed on the pavement.
O’Neal tried to go away after the argument but the officer’s wife attempted to physically drag O’Neal back from fleeing after DeLustro threatened to shoot him if he fled.
Before paramedics could reach the scene of the crime, the affidavit claims that DeLustro, who was riding shotgun, reportedly shot O’Neal once as he started to drive away.
Following the shooting, the Summerville Police Department sent the case to SLED and put DeLustro, who received treatment for minor injuries, on administrative leave as per New York Post.
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DeLustro has served as a police officer, sheriff, and college security guard in South Carolina. He started his career in the New York Police Department.
According to records found online, he was an officer in the New York Police Department from 1980 to 2003, during which time he was the subject of three public accusations of misconduct.
