‘No business being alive’: Man paralyzed by cops in Myrtle Beach raid settles civil case
Twelve armed police officers, a battering ram, a Myrtle Beach apartment, a suspect, a gun, 29 shots, nine bullet wounds, two investigations, no criminal charges for police, one civil lawsuit.
Now, $11.25 million.
Julian Betton reached an eight-figure settlement with city and county officials related to the 2015 raid on his Wither Swash Drive apartment. Betton’s lawyers announced the figure during a 90-minute presentation on Thursday as they recapped the raid and the civil case.
Attorney Jonny McCoy stressed with no changes to police procedures and the constant defense of the questionable raid that left Betton paralyzed it will happen again.
“I’m scared to death for the citizens of Myrtle Beach and around Horry County,” McCoy said. “This is business as usual, this is OK, and not just it’s OK, this is what you’re supposed to be doing.”
The total settlement announcement concludes the five-year saga for Betton that included a criminal investigation and his federal civil lawsuit. Betton sued Horry County, Myrtle Beach and several officials following the raid.
He also provided a video that appears to show officers lied about how they conducted the raid and what happened in the near-deadly encounter inside the apartment.
“He had no business being alive after what they did to him,” Bradley Bannon, one of three attorneys for Betton, said.
The raid
The Drug Enforcement Unit was created in the early 2000s, Bannon said. It started in Myrtle Beach and was later transferred to county jurisdiction using officers from numerous police agencies. Jimmy Richardson, Solicitor for the 15th Judicial Circuit, oversees the unit.
The case against Betton started in November 2014, Bannon said, when a U.S. military veteran was pulled over for a routine traffic violation. When police searched her car, they found a small amount of drugs. They left her with two options, help them or face stiff penalties.
Without much choice, the veteran agreed to help and went to her friend Betton to buy drugs, Bannon said. She bought a total of 15 grams of marijuana in two separate purchases.
For comparison sakes, in some states where recreational marijuana remains illegal, less than 15 grams of marijuana is a simple ticket.
Those two drug deals gave officers the pretext to get a warrant for Betton’s home, Bannon said. The warrant is required by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“When you get that warrant, you must go to that home, you must knock on the door and you must announce your presence as police, and you must wait a reasonable time before you breach the door,” Bannon explained.
Betton lived on Withers Swash Drive for several years after moving to the Grand Strand from Ohio. In Ohio, Betton was previously convicted of cocaine possession. Still, his lawyers said, he could still have guns and had one on him when police raided his home.
There were no violent crimes on Betton’s wrap sheet, and Betton hadn’t been in trouble in several years, his lawyers said.
The DEU came up with a plan for the April 2015 raid, and Bannon showed a planning document. On it, individual officer’s responsibilities during the assault were only listed as to-be-determined.
Around 2 p.m. officers, pulled up at Betton’s apartment. That was hours after conducting a similar raid in a separate case. Officers exited the car that had its blue, police lights activated, but was an unmarked police vehicle otherwise.
It’s at this point the police and Betton’s version of what transpired next diverges.
Officers would tell investigators that they knocked, waited and then entered Betton’s apartment. They say Betton pointed a gun at them and they returned fire. Officers fired 29 shots from their AR-15, semi-automatic guns and hit Betton nine times.
“The three shooters who went inside all said Julian Betton shot his weapon at them first,” Bannon said.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement investigated the shooting and lab testing showed Betton’s gun was not fired despite the officer’s assertions. Even when presented with the evidence, officers said in taped deposition they defended themselves and said Betton fired.
Bannon railed about how SLED did not interview officers again after the new evidence. He also said the officers were allowed to provide written statements and not interviewed in person the day after the shooting.
DEU agents searched Betton’s home after the shooting and found small traces of marijuana.
Doctors put Betton in a weeks-long coma after the shooting, when he awoke he told investigators what happened inside the apartment. He said he was coming out of the bathroom when officers busted down his door, which caused him to reach for his gun.
“He admittedly denied he ever raised his weapon and pointed it at anyone,” Bannon said.
Betton also said how he had surveillance cameras at his home. The cameras were installed after a burglary and showed Betton’s front porch. In the video, the DEU officers go up the front steps, fan out along the door and one agent smashes the door with a battering ram.
The officers are dressed in street clothes, some with face coverings. They are wearing bullet-proof vests, many in camouflage coloring, as they storm the home. Of the three officers that fired, only David Belue of the Myrtle Beach police has any insignia identifying himself as a police officer.
At no point does it appear the officers knock, announce themselves as police, wait and then enter the home.
A neighbor also told investigators that officers did not wait before entering.
“It looks a lot like a military operation,” Bannon said.
The SLED investigation into “Operation Jules” - the nickname DEU called the raid on Betton’s home - also showed that officers fired shots with enough force that a bullet hit a nearby home during the middle of a busy afternoon.
The 16th Judicial Circuit Solicitor decided not to bring criminal charges against the three officers who filed shots. The York County prosecutor supervised the investigation after Richardson recused himself.
Betton’s lawyers described that decision as believing the officer’s discredited statements over Betton and the witness.
The officer statements were the basis of the DEU filing charges against Betton for pointing a gun at a person and for the drug sales. The South Carolina Attorney General took over prosecution and dropped the gun charge. Betton would later plead guilty to a drug count.
Myrtle Beach Police Department and then-Chief Warren Gall reviewed the raid. Betton’s lawyers said Gall found 11 areas of major issues, including the need to train officers on constitutionally protected rights.
Gall later admitted in deposition that he didn’t know why officers didn’t try to arrest Betton outside the home, which would have been safer.
Not one city, county or state law enforcement official was held accountable for the shooting or the investigation, Betton’s lawyer said. He also said they are unaware if any police procedures changed since the shooting.
“We are not going to move on as business as usual,” McCoy said.
Civil lawsuit
In November 2015, Betton sued Richardson, then Commander of the drug unit Bill Knowles, and officers Dean Bishop, Chad Guess, Frank Waddell, Chris Dennis and BeLue in federal court over the raid. Horry County and Myrtle Beach would later be added as defendants.
A four-year legal saga followed, with a judge saying at one point that it appeared that entering without knocking was commonplace at the DEU. Officer statements also support the idea that they frequently entered without knocking. One officer insisted they knocked on Betton’s door despite evidence to the contrary.
“It’s not the law to knock and announce,” the officer said. “It’s officer discretion.”
An unnamed, DEU whistleblower who was also part of the raid told Betton’s lawyers that no-knock raids were standard practice.
Knowles also testified that no DEU officers faced punishments because of the raid.
“They didn’t do anything wrong,” Knowles said.
Richardson, the county and its officers settled their portion of a lawsuit for $2.75 million in January 2018. Myrtle Beach and Belue appealed some court decisions to a Virginia-based U.S. Appeals court. That court ruled against the city.
Late last year, the city settled with Betton to the tune of $8.5 million, to bring Betton’s total settlement to $11.25 million.
“This was over $100,” attorney Burton Craige said. “Think about the overkill of a SWAT team of 12 people, armed with AR-15s and battering rams smashing into someone’s home for a $100 of marijuana.”
Myrtle Beach responds
Myrtle Beach officials provided a statement hours after Betton’s lawyers spoke to the media. Spokesman Mark Kruea said the city’s insurance company decided to settle the case.
“We believe that reaching this agreement was not only right for the city, but also for Mr. Betton,” the city’s statement reads.
“The city’s officers in this case were part of a multi-officer team under the jurisdiction of the Horry County Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU). As noted by Mr. Betton’s attorneys, retired Police Chief Warren Gall conducted an investigation of the operation and identified a number of deficiencies.
“As a result, the Myrtle Beach Police Department no longer participates in the Drug Enforcement Unit. The Myrtle Beach Police Department has policies and training in place governing search warrants and their execution to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of our citizens. Myrtle Beach also was one of the first departments in the state to equip its officers with body-worn cameras. Our officers are required to wear and activate those cameras for the protection of the public and the city.”
Moving forward
McCoy said the lawyers wanted to highlight the case so the media and the public would question police on whether there have been changes after the raid. He added the settlement “sets the bar” at $11.25 million if there are other raids similar to Betton’s.
“We told you nothing has been done,” McCoy said. “It’s going on $11.25 million, $11.25 million, $11.25 million and to infinity because guess what? These guys are not going anywhere.”
McCoy also asked how many more future cases there will be as the officers involved still are conducting raids for local police.
In addition to being paralyzed, Betton also faces several medical issues five-years after the shooting. He takes numerous pain pills, rarely sleeps through the night and has frequent hospital visits.
“The only time I don’t feel pain is when I’m asleep,” Betton said in a deposition.
Despite the injuries, McCoy said his client remains thriving and is in good spirits. The Myrtle Beach-based attorney also referenced a movie scene where clients thank their lawyer for settlement money, but ask why there was no apology.
“[There are] 11.25 million ‘I’m sorries,’” McCoy said, taking the scene and comparing it to the Betton case. “Is that enough? I don’t know.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 10:51 AM.
