EUTAWVILLE, S.C. – A South Carolina grand jury's indictment last week of a white police chief in the killing of an unarmed black man capped three years during which a tense patience united the town's 300 residents.

The murder indictment of Richard Combs offers a counternarrative to those unfolding in Missouri and New York, where grand juries refused to charge police for killing unarmed black men, triggering protests across America. The charges speak to more intimate ties between blacks and whites in small towns and challenge the idea that racial conflict is at its worst in the once-segregated South.

Last week's indictment is South Carolina's third in four months for law officers who shot unarmed black men, and the first for murder.

"The brand of justice, ironically, in this state has proved at this moment across America to be even higher than that that we see in New York City," said Carl Grant, attorney for the family of Bernard Bailey.

The indictment chilled South Carolina police, said Wally Fayssoux, a lawyer for Combs, who predicted his client will be acquitted.

"There is a deep concern among law enforcement professionals about this idea that a man could be indicted for just doing his job," Fayssoux said.

He said prosecutor David Pascoe, a white Democrat who sought the charge, wanted national attention. The indictment was announced the day that a New York City grand jury refused to act in the death of Eric Garner, a black man choked to death by a police officer arresting him on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes.

The shooting

Bailey, 54, was well-known around Eutawville. A former corrections officer who stood 6 feet 6 and weighed 285 pounds, he was a manager at a nearby Wal-Mart. His wife was a school librarian.

"Bernard was a very nice guy," said Tom Bilton, a white friend. "If my wife and family went to Wal-Mart, he'd always have a smile for them."

The events that led to Bailey's death began in March 2011, when Combs pulled over Bailey's daughter for a broken taillight.

Briana Bailey called her father to the scene. Combs didn't want him there and the two argued before Combs wrote the ticket.

Three days later, Combs got a warrant to arrest Bernard Bailey for obstructing justice.

Bailey came by Combs' closet-sized town hall office a day before his daughter's May 3 court date. He intended to pay the ticket, said Grant, the family lawyer.

Combs pulled out his warrant and Bailey walked out with Combs in pursuit. Bailey got in his truck and Combs tried to handcuff him while standing in the open door, according to his petition.

Bailey put the truck into reverse. In the self-defense petition, Combs' lawyers argued that he was terrified he would be run over. Combs shot Bailey three times.

"We were all in disbelief," said Alicia Philpott, a black neighbor of the Bailey family.

The NAACP organized a meeting at Bailey's church. About 600 people showed up.

"We were ready to move forward, to do marches, anything," said Gwen Barksdale, 59, a member from nearby Holly Hill.

Lonnie Randolph, president of the state NAACP, advised against it, saying the community would be best served by letting law enforcement handle it.

"He said just relax for now," Philpott said.

The U.S. Justice Department investigated the case but didn't bring charges. Then, in 2013, Pascoe picked up the case.

Pascoe won an indictment against Combs for misconduct in office in 2013. Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson ruled against Combs this month, saying he couldn't claim the right to self-defense in a confrontation he started and pursued. Then, the grand jury returned its murder indictment.

Jean Davis Capers, the town NAACP president, said, "We were all fired up to start something and it turns out, from the outcome of this situation, that we did the right thing."

"This didn't happen because of race," she said. "This happened because of ego. I think we have sent a lesson to law enforcement that they need to hire the right kind of people."