Sean Groubert, Trooper Who Shot Motorist Who Reached for His License, Fired and Arrested; Video of Incident Released
Sean Groubert, 31, a South Carolina state trooper who shot Levar Edward Jones during a routine traffic stop at a gas station in Columbia, was fired last week and arrested on Wednesday as a dashcam video of the Sept. 4 incident was made public this week.
A report from the Huffington Post highlighted Groubert's firing and arrest while a copy of the dashcam video of the incident has gone viral on YouTube with more than 1.5 million views in two days as of Friday morning.
The just over 3-minute dashcam video shows Jones alighting from his vehicle and turning around to see Groubert pulling up in the gas station who asks him "can I see your license please."
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Jones who appeared somewhat surprised for a moment on seeing the officer, appears to touch his pocket then quickly turned around and reached into his vehicle.
Groubert then instantly begins screaming "get out of the car, get out of the car" while firing a volley of bullets at him. Jones turns around and quickly throws his hands in the air while Groubert continued firing at him, then yelled, "get on the ground, get on the ground."
"I just got my license, you said get my license," Jones said sheepishly to Groubert as he is instructed to put his hands behind his back. The sound of what appears to be handcuffs locking is then heard in the video.
"What did I do?" Jones is then heard asking plaintively.
"Are you hit?" Groubert then asked.
"I think so. I can't feel my legs," Jones replied. "I don't know what happened, I just grabbed my license. Why did you shoot me?"
"Well, you dove head first back into your car," Groubert told him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear two words," Jones said apologetically.
Groubert is then heard telling Jones that he pulled him over for a seatbelt violation and Jones told him that he just pulled it off as he pulled up in the gas station.
A release from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division on Wednesday said Groubert was charged with one count of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, which is a felony that can attract a maximum of 20 years in prison on conviction.
The complaint said Groubert "did without justification unlawfully shoot Levar Jones which produced great bodily injury or was likely to cause great bodily injury."
It highlighted that audio, video and witness statements all indicate that the "shooting incident was without justification."
South Carolina Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith noted in the Huffington Post that the case was disturbing and said Groubert's actions justified his termination.
"After my review of the facts surrounding this matter, I have determined that Mr. Groubert's actions rose to such an extent that his employment with us must be terminated," Smith said in a statement last week.
"While Groubert was within the law to stop Jones for a safety belt violation, the force administered in this case was unwarranted, inconsistent with how our troopers are trained, and clearly in violation of department policies."
Groubert has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is now free after posting a $75,000 bond. He is slated to appear in court on Oct. 24 while Jones is recovering from a hip injury after he was treated in the hospital.
