Without watching the video or reading anything further...anyone care to wager a guess at the race of the officer and the race of the motorist?

04 September 2014 traffic stop by South Carolina State Trooper LCpl Sean Groubert. Lance Corporal Groubert pulled over Levar Jones for a seat belt violation. Jones was shot in the hip during the traffic stop and is expected to fully recover.

 

I watched this earlier. It's alarming. I know it's a split second decision but you can't tell a driver to get his license then shoot him when he reaches in his car to get them.

I watched this earlier. It's alarming. I know it's a split second decision but you can't tell a driver to get his license then shoot him when he reaches in his car to get them.

 

Looks like the South Carolina couldn't distance themselves from this guy any faster. The SC Staties fired him on the 19th (15 days after the shooting), and now he's in jail and looking at charges that carry a possible 20 year sentence.

Terrible.

Oh my gosh. That guy could have easily been dead, thank goodness he was only hit in the hip.

 

I'm gonna tell you though and be completely honest...I'm very glad I wasn't in the cops shoes. The way the guy reached back in his vehicle to get his id was very quick and sort of awkward. So much so that is scared the trooper and he, unfortunately overreacted. I, too leave my wallet with my id on the seat or sometimes in my console when I am driving, so I could see myself in a similar scenario should I be out of my car and asked by a cop for my id.

Not many jobs where you go to work each day worrying about a)dying or b)getting arrested for a decision you made.

All of this over a damn seatbelt violation.

Not many jobs where you go to work each day worrying about a)dying or b)getting arrested for a decision you made.

 

Dusty

Sad, glad the young man survived. Officer absolutely should be fired just based on that video. There could be a few things that could justify what he did but since he was so quickly fired and now being prosecuted I'd say none of those factors were at play.

Jesus.

The man did reach in the car kind of quickly but I don't think he seemed threatening at any time. The cop should have been fired and he should at least be forced to pay restitution. As a cop, he has to have better instincts than that.

Holy crap! That was...odd.

Seems like a perfect video to use for training.

 

Guy is out of his car. Maybe the first question should be "is your license in your pocket" when the guy is out of the vehicle. A "no" would then allow for the officer to give detailed instructions on how to go about getting the license that would avoid this type of scenario. The guy did reach quickly. Who knows what he was reaching for? However, he did as the officer told him.

I almost never have my wallet in my pocket.