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By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail

Seneca city administrator Greg Dietterick sent a letter in October to Clemson University's president urging him to rein in two university instructors who were protesting the fatal Seneca Police Department shooting of unarmed teenager Zachary Hammond.

In the letter, Dietterick said the instructors, philosophy professor Todd May and communications assistant professor Chenjerai Kumanyika, both had freedom of speech.

But Dietterick said that by identifying their positions at Clemson at a rally the two were "speaking as if they are representatives of Clemson University in making their ill-founded arguments."

Dietterick said the two were using their position at a state university to "try and humiliate public officials."

"If I were the president of one of the nation's most respected universities, I would not want two employees commenting publicly on behalf of the university on legal matters that they do not have all the information on," noted Dietterick.

Clemson University President Jim Clements received the letter, university spokesman John Gouch confirmed. He said a university spokeswoman, not Clements, responded to Seneca by telling the city it was not a university matter since the instructors were acting as private citizens and not in any official capacity.

Hammond was shot and killed during a botched drug sting.

Dietterick does not ask for any specific discipline for the two instructors in the letter and he did not respond to a request for comment.

The letter was part of several hundred emails exchanged between city leaders and Complete Public Relations, a Greenville firm hired by Seneca to handle media requests in the wake of the July 26 shooting. The city fought in court to keep the emails from being released as part of a lawsuit filed by Hammond's parents. The emails were ordered released in March and last week the city agreed to a $2.1 million settlement for the parents of Hammond while not admitting any fault in the shooting.

May called the letter a non-issue since he and Kumanyika did not use university time or resources, and never indicated they were speaking on behalf of the university.

"This is just a pathetic attempt to blunt citizen criticism of governmental actions and inaction," May said. "Ultimately, the issue is not us; it is the killing of Zachary Hammond."

Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM