Trooper shoots unarmed man at gas station. The trooper pulled him over at a gas station for a seat belt violation. The man apparently didn't notice the cop behind him, and continued to go to the pump until the officer gets out of the car. Once the officer got out of the car, he proceeded to yell at the man and tell him to get back to his car. The officer was about ten feet away when he asked the man to give him his license. The man turned around and reached for his license when the officer started to yell "get on the ground!" He then proceeded to open fire at the man. While the man was getting shot he stepped back and said, "why? why?". While this all happened the man even stepped back out of his car and put his hands up. The officer continued to fire at him.
The trooper was fired from the force, and was charged with battery and other criminal charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
"I just got my license! You said get my license!" says someone off camera, apparently Jones.
After being told to put his hands behind his back, Jones asks: "What did I do, sir?"
"Are you hit?" asks another off-camera voice, apparently Groubert's.
"I think so," comes the response. "I can't feel my leg. I don't know what happened."
The conversation continues:
"Why did you shoot me?"
"Well, you dove head-first back into your car
Do you believe the officer did the right thing, or is he getting what he deserves?
video link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/25/justice/south-carolina-trooper-shooting/index.html?hpt=ju_c1
Replies
Interesting story. Be sure to hyperlink correctly next time.
I think that he didn't do the right thing. If the man had a seat belt violation then you don't go shooting him up for it.
I get to an extent on why the cop was worried. He didn't know why he was reaching in the car. Usually people carry there id in their wallet. Did he think he was grabbing a gun?