An off-duty South Carolina officer who began his law enforcement career with the NYPD was charged with murder Wednesday after he allegedly shot and killed an unarmed man outside a Chick-fil-A.
Anthony DeLustro, a Summerville Police Department officer, is accused of jumping into the car of 39-year-old Michael O’Neal and fatally shooting him on March 20 as the victim was trying to flee following a dispute with the off-duty cop.
DeLustro, 64, tried to claim self-defense immediately following the deadly altercation, saying he feared for the community’s safety and his wife’s safety.
But eyewitness interviews and video evidence collected by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) show that the cop “did kill the victim with malice aforethought,” according to an affidavit provided by the state agency.
“A reasonable person could not have reasonably believed that the victim posed a threat of imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to others because the victim was unarmed, walked away from the altercation and attempted to leave in his vehicle,” a senior special agent at SLED wrote in the affidavit.
Several witnesses told investigators that DeLustro was “the primary aggressor” and allegedly killed O’Neal as he attempted to leave after the pair got into a physical fight in the parking lot of the fast food joint, the document states.
It’s unclear what started the skirmish but both men got out of their cars and O’Neal asked the off-duty officer, “Do you want to do this?” multiple times, one witness told SLED.
DeLustro replied with a homophobic slur: “Come on, you f–king f—-t,” according to the witness.
The men then began a fistfight as bystanders tried to separate them. As they exchanged blows, DeLustro tried to use his Summerville police credentials and told O’Neal he was under arrest, according to the affidavit.
The cop’s department handgun fell from his holster onto the pavement during the tussle, the document states.
At some point, O’Neal — whose own father was an officer with Winston-Salem police for over 30 years — was done and said he wanted to leave, according to a witness. He retreated and returned to his vehicle to try to leave.
But DeLustro yelled that he would shoot him if he left and the cop’s wife tried to physically restrain O’Neal from leaving, according to a bystander who was holding back the cop.
DeLustro broke free from the bystander, scooped up his handgun from the pavement, and stepped into the passenger seat of O’Neal’s Hyundai Genesis armed with the gun.
O’Neal shouted at him to get out of his car, but DeLustro stayed where he was with the passenger door open.
The victim then began to drive away and DeLustro allegedly fired a single shot from the passenger seat, striking O’Neal once and killing him before paramedics could arrive, the affidavit states.
The Summerville Police Department placed DeLustro — who was treated for minor injuries — on administrative leave following the shooting and handed the investigation over to SLED, according to WCSC.
The cop admitted to SLED investigators that he never saw the victim with any weapon and that he never threatened to use any sort of weapon and he was trying to stop O’Neal from leaving, the document states.
The special agent said DeLustro re-engaged O’Neal with a deadly weapon after the fight ended in what was “reckless” behavior that gave O’Neal the right to act in self-defense, not the angry cop.
Summerville police fired DeLustro after he was charged with murder Wednesday, WCSC reported.
The department sympathized with both the victim’s and the alleged killer’s families in a statement online.
“This tragedy has devastated two families and we offer our deepest sympathies to both,” the statement posted to Facebook reads.
O’Neal’s cousin has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to support his parents to help with funeral expenses.
“We are all devastated at the untimely and violent death of our dear Michael–or Mike, Mikey, or O’Neal,” Amy Nail wrote in its description. “As of this writing, there are many unanswered questions, and Michael’s family is respectfully waiting for SLED to perform a thorough investigation, which takes time.”
DeLustro started his career with the NYPD and has worked for various police, sheriff and campus security departments in South Carolina over the years.
He was an officer in the NYPD between 1980 and 2003 — during which time he faced three complaints of misconduct from the public, according to online records.
Two complaints were for the use of force. Both were dismissed as unfounded and unsubstantiated by the Civilian Complaint Review Board. An investigation into the third, for abuse of authority for an unnecessary traffic stop, was not completed, since DeLustro left the NYPD the same year to move to the Palmetto State.
His first job in the state was working security at Trident Technical College, where his employer said his “temper was noticeable,” though he rarely received a complaint from the public, according to a reference check obtained by WCSC.
SLED’s investigation remains ongoing.
