A Solicitor's Office review of a July 18 shooting incident in Gaffney determined Cherokee County Sheriff's Office deputies acted appropriately and confirmed what Sheriff Bill Blanton knew from the start.

"It couldn't have been handled any different or any better," Blanton said of his officer's actions on July 18. "There was no doubt in our minds."

Cherokee County sheriff's deputies serving on the bloodhound tracking team were forced to discharge their weapons during a manhunt for Jerry Douglas Case, a 52- year-old Gastonia (N.C.) man who allegedly kidnapped a family in North Carolina.

The family escaped from Case when they stopped at the Kangaroo convenience store in Gaffney near Exit 96 of Interstate 85.

Police subsequently tracked Case to a swampy area near the interstate.

Case, whom federal authorities say was armed with a .177-caliber pellet pistol that looked like a conventional weapon, fired shots at the pursuing deputies, striking one in the leg. Deputies returned fire and struck Case, who survived the shooting.

Case, who had been paroled from a life sentence for murder before the kidnapping incident, was charged with four counts of kidnapping under federal law.

Because officers were involved in a shooting, the case was automatically investigated by SLED and sent for review. The review was handled by the Solicitor's Office for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.

In a letter to SLED, Deputy Solicitor Betty Strom simply wrote that the facts did not establish any criminal behavior by the officers involved.

All of the officers involved in the incident were lauded during Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy's annual law enforcement appreciation dinner and one of the officers was awarded the Solicitor's Award for Law Enforcement Excellence for his work in a number of high profile cases.