A veteran South Carolina state trooper was fired today for shooting an unarmed black man during a traffic stop, following a nationwide spate of police shootings of black people that made headlines and provoked demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, and other places.
Trooper Sean Groubert, 31, pulled over Levar Jones, 35, for an alleged seat belt violation on Sept. 4. Jones pulled into a convenience store and stopped with Groubert behind him. Groubert ordered Jones out of his car. Jones complied. Groubert then asked Jones for his driver’s license. Jones turned his back to Groubert and reached into his car to get it. Groubert, who claims he feared Jones might be reaching for a weapon, opened fire, hitting Jones in the hip.
The incident was recorded by Groubert’s squad car video camera. Jones is seen leaping backward, hands in the air, and asking Groubert, “What did I do wrong?” after being shot. Groubert didn’t say “because I’m white and you’re black,” but given recent events, readers could be forgiven for suspecting he might have been thinking something along those lines. But, in fairness to Groubert, that’s just idle speculation.
Shooting people in the back was never stylish in America, not even in the Old West, and SC’s Public Safety Director fired Groubert last Friday after reviewing the video for “not following protocol.” Today, the ex-trooper was charged with felony assault, and could face up to 20 years in prison. Groubert, of course, has lawyered up and is asserting innocence.
Comment: As the country waits to learn whether a grand jury will indict Darren Wilson, the Ferguson cop who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown during a jaywalking stop, and just one day after an Ohio grand jury refused to indict another cop who shot and killed an unarmed black man who picked up a toy gun for his son in a WalMart store, it’s surprising to see a white cop lose his job and be criminally charged for shooting an unarmed black motorist during a simple license check in South Carolina of all places. After all, SC isn’t exactly an epicenter of racial harmony or authorities respecting black people.
Maybe it has dawned on police bosses there, faster than elsewhere, that a white cop shooting an unarmed black man in the back for doing what the cop ordered him to do isn’t good public relations? Nobody wants to look bad. Especially that bad. Although South Carolina already looks bad, for various reasons that needn’t be recounted here, this time let’s all give them provisional credit for doing the right thing. I say “provisional” because it remains to be seen whether that state can muster a jury willing to convict a white cop for shooting a black person in the back for doing what the cop ordered him to do
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