*Two Black women who happened to be walking through their neighborhood when they came upon a white Fort Jackson soldier harassing a Black man are speaking out.
As previously reported, viral video of the incident shows non-commissioned Army soldier Jonathan Pentland of Fort Jackson berating a Black man walking down the sidewalk and shouting at him to leave the Columbia, South Carolina neighborhood known as The Summit. At one point, Pentland shoves the man. He’s since been charged with third-degree assault.
Shadae McCallum, who lived in the neighborhood and filmed the video, said that the Black man was first confronted by women in the neighborhood who accused him of bullying their children, which prompted Pentland to come out of the house and confront the Black man.
Local CBS news affiliate WLTX spoke with two bystanders who witnessed the altercation and stepped in to help the young Black man. The news outlet did not give their names.
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According to the sheriff’s department, the victim had previously “approached several neighbors in a threatening manner, and the confrontation escalated after a neighbor asked Pentland to intervene.”
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a press conference Wednesday evening that the victim might have approached the neighbors due to an undisclosed underlying medical condition. He said the Black man might have been involved in past incidents in the area where a 22-year-old Black man reportedly “twice put his hand around a woman’s waist and picked up a baby without consent,” but that does not excuse the attack, the Post and Courier reported.
“The first time I saw the video, it was terrible,” Lott said. “It was unnecessary. It was a bad video — young man was the victim, the individual that was arrested was the aggressor, and he’s been dealt with accordingly.”
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The Department of Justice is also reportedly investigating the incident.
About 40 protestors gathered outside the soldier’s house around April 14 at noon chanting, “This is our neighborhood, too!” The Richmond County Sheriff’s Department announced that Pentland and his family were removed from their home after demonstrations outside turned violent and the house was vandalized. Authorities said one of the objects hurled at the house smashed a light fixture and broke an upstairs window.
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