Trooper Caught on Video Shooting Unarmed Driver During Traffic Stop

A South Carolina trooper is in hot water after a video has surfaced of him shooting an unarmed driver during a routine traffic stop.

Lance Corporal Sean M. Groubert was fired and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in connection with the shooting in a gas station’s parking lot, which was filmed by a camera in his patrol car.

NBC news reports, on Sept. 4, Groubert pulled over Levar Edward Jones for a seatbelt violation in Columbia, South Carolina, and subsequently shot the unarmed man in the hip.

In newly released video, Groubert is heard asking Jones for his license. As Jones reaches into his car, the officer is seen moving quickly while pointing his gun and shouting, “Get out of the car!”

He then fires four shots at Jones as he falls backwards away from the car with his hands in the air.

Groubert cuffs the injured driver, who can be heard asking, “What did I do, sir?” Groubert then asks Jones if he was hit. “Why did you shoot me?” Jones asks, to which the former officer responds he shot because “you dove head-first back into your car.”

Groubert was fired last week and the charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.