A South Carolina man who survived being shot 9 occasions by police has sued officers who he claims behaved “like cowboys from a John Wayne movie.”
Trevor Mullinax was sitting in a pickup truck on personal property and had a looking shotgun with him in May 2021 when police had been known as to carry out a welfare verify, the lawsuit claims.
Court papers state that Mr Mullinax’s mom, Tammy Beason, was standing by the truck as her son suffered a psychological well being disaster and that “at no point did he point the weapon at himself or any other person.”
Trevor Mullinax sues after surviving being shot 9 occasions by police throughout welfare verify
(Bamberg Legal)
The lawsuit claims that after the caller phoned 911 and requested for the welfare verify, officers didn’t attempt to name Mr Mullinax or his mom, regardless of being given their cellphone numbers, reported WBTV.
“Prior to arriving at the Plaintiffs’ location, Sheriff’s deputies failed to plan, choosing instead to ride in like cowboys from a John Wayne movie, defaulting to using deadly force, immediately, without attempting to deescalate the situation, in complete disregard for State law/regulation, Sheriff’s policies, and/or County ordinances,” the lawsuit states.
Court papers state that deputies from the York County Sheriff’s Office fired almost 50 rounds at Mr Mullinax, hitting him 9 occasions, together with within the head.
Lawyers for Mr Mullinax say he had his palms within the air and his mom, who can be a part of the lawsuit, was instantly within the line of fireside.
And the lawsuit claims that in the course of the encounter, Mr Mullinax by no means raised or pointed a weapon that will have warranted the usage of lethal power by the deputies.
The sheriff’s workplace says that Mr Mullinax pulled a weapon on the deputies, inflicting them to fireside upon him.
“These deputies responded appropriately to the threat as they were trained to do,” York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson stated in a press release. “Had Mr Mullinax made different choices that day, deputies would not have been required to use force.”
The company additionally says that the taking pictures was investigated independently by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, and all of the deputies concerned had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the sixteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Three of the 4 deputies nonetheless work for the power and a fourth left to hitch the personal sector.
