CNN) -- One moment, a man reaches into his vehicle after a South Carolina trooper asked for his driver's license.
Seconds later, the trooper shoots him, and the man asks why. Days afterward, prosecutors aren't satisfied with the answer.
Authorities released dash-camera video Wednesday showing what they say is Sean Groubert, a decorated South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, shooting Levar Jones, who was unarmed, in the parking lot of a gas station just outside Columbia on September 4.
Jones, 35, survived the shooting. But Groubert, who has since been fired for the incident, has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, a felony that could get him up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Wednesday.
"The force administered in this case was unwarranted, inconsistent with how our troopers are trained, and clearly in violation of department policies," South Carolina Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said last week in announcing Groubert's firing.
This wasn't the first time Groubert had fired his weapon. He was lauded the previous time: His department gave him a medal of valor for an incident in which he and another trooper shot and injured a man who had shot at them in 2012, SCPSD spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said.
South Carolina trooper shot unarmed man, police say - CNN.com
No comments:
Post a Comment