Dramatic video shows tussle over taser before SC trooper fatally shoots Horry County man
EDITOR’S NOTE: The video included in this story shows graphic footage of a South Carolina state trooper shooting a man during an altercation.
Newly-released surveillance footage shows the confrontation that ended with a South Carolina state trooper fatally shooting an Horry County man on Sept. 11.
The surveillance video, taken from a private residence in the Longs area, shows the conflict that escalated to South Carolina Highway Patrol Master Trooper W.B. Benton fatally shooting Tristan Vereen, 33.
The footage was released by Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson Wednesday morning.
The confrontation took place in what appears to be a private yard with a driveway and carport.
The video is two minutes and five seconds long. The footage begins with Vereen’s car pulling up to the driveway before he exits and runs.
A South Carolina Highway Patrol car follows immediately behind Vereen’s car. When Vereen takes off running, Benton exits the patrol car and briefly chases Vereen.
The foot pursuit ends with Benton throwing Vereen to the ground on the driveway and attempting to arrest him. Vereen appears to try to get away when Benton begins to tase him.
Benton eventually drops the taser and Vereen picks it up and begins to use it on Benton.
The view of the struggle is partially obstructed by a carport covering the driveway, and it is unclear when Benton draws his gun.
Vereen is on top of Benton when it appears Vereen was shot, one minute and 19 seconds into the video. Vereen can be seen falling to his side and propping himself up on his right hand and hip.
Benton is then seen walking behind a stumbling Vereen, who has streaks of blood running down his white shirt. The sight of the blood is mostly obscured by the black rectangle edited to hide Vereen’s face. Benton has his gun drawn and Vereen takes off his shirt.
The footage shows Benton shooting shooting Vereen at 3:53 p.m. Vereen died at Grand Strand Medical Center at about 5 p.m.
The surveillance video was edited by the Solicitor’s Office to hide the identities of Vereen, Benton and witnesses who appeared to live in the house from where the surveillance video was shot. The witnesses appeared to watch the confrontation between Benton and Vereen from just outside the back door of the house. Their faces are hidden with black rectangles throughout the the video.
Richardson said he decided to release the video in the interest of “full transparency,” in a prepared statement sent out with the surveillance footage.
“Generally, we would wait until the investigation is complete before releasing any information, however a certain amount of misinformation was circulating in the community and this is our effort to alleviate any misinformation,” Richardson said.
The confrontation began when Benton tried to pull Vereen over for an equipment violation on South Carolina Highway 905 near Highway 22 in Horry County, according to SCDPS.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is the agency investigating the incident.
Benton was placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation unfolds, according to Capt. Kelley Hughes with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.
Hughes said Benton would remain on leave at least “until all the investigations are complete.”
Benton, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the confrontation that led to Vereen’s killing, underwent surgery Tuesday, according to Hughes.
Benton is assigned to Troop 5, whose coverage area includes Horry County. He has been with the South Carolina Highway Patrol since 2010.
Vereen attorneys respond
The attorneys for Vereen’s family, civil rights attorney Harry Daniels and co-counsel Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, released a statement in reference to case to WPDE-TV on Wednesday.
“Tristan Vereen, a 33-year-old black man, was fatally wounded after he was illegally stopped and illegally arrested by State Trooper Whitney Blake (W.B.) Benton of the S.C. Highway Patrol. According to Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, he believed that Trooper Benton initiated a traffic stop on Mr. Vereen due to a cracked windshield. Notably, a vehicle with a cracked windshield in the State of South Carolina, is not a traffic violation according to South Carolina law.”
The Sun News reached out to The Law Offices of Harry M. Daniels LLC on Wednesday and is awaiting a call back from Daniels.
The attorneys’ statement to WPDE went on to say the following:
“If the stop is unlawful then the killing is unlawful. Mr. Vereen had the absolute right to resist the unlawful arrest of Trooper Benton. Unfortunately, we see time after time that the rights that have been afforded to us by the United States Constitution, are not afforded to people of color when it comes to their interaction(s) with law enforcement.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 11:43 AM.
