Myrtle Beach reaches settlement with man police paralyzed in questionable raid
A man shot nine times by police during a raid settled his civil lawsuit with the City of Myrtle Beach and an officer.
The settlement comes a week before jury selection was scheduled to start in the federal trial. A judge filed an order on Thursday to dismiss the case, pending finalization of the settlement.
The settlement ends the years-long civil suit over the raid of Julian Betton’s home. Drug Enforcement Unit officers were conducting a drug investigation and fired dozens of shots at Betton when they entered his home. Betton was paralyzed in the shooting.
Betton’s attorney Jonny McCoy said the settlement amount would not being released this week. He added, “we are extremely satisfied with the resolution of this case and will provide more details as the agreement is finalized.”
City of Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea also released a statement:
“The insurance company representing the City of Myrtle Beach’s interests has made a decision to settle the case involving Julian Betton. Details of that agreement are being negotiated and will be finalized in coming weeks. The trial that was expected to begin later this month has been stayed, pending settlement negotiations. “
Betton sued over police actions during the April 2015 raid by the DEU, a multi-jurisdictional task force 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson leads that investigates drug activity in the Grand Strand.
DEU officers got a warrant to go into Betton’s home after he sold small amounts of marijuana. Officers entered the residence without knocking or announcing their arrival and used a battering ram to knock down the door. Betton was coming out of a different room, and officers shot him.
The defendants initially claimed they knocked and announced their presence, but video footage from security cameras on Betton’s front porch showed that was not the case, according to court paperwork. Betton said the gun was at his side, while officer David Belue contended he pointed the gun at them.
Officers claimed Betton shot at them, but testing showed his gun was never fired.
Some of the defendants settled with Betton for $2.75 million while the case against Belue and the city remained active.
A federal judge determined two years ago that the DEU often didn’t announce themselves before they used search warrants to enter homes. An appeals court also found that a jury could decide the DEU used unreasonable force when it raided Betton’s home.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 5:53 PM.
