Man left paralyzed after being shot by Charleston Co. deputy awarded $750,000

Published: Oct. 18, 2019 at 7:45 AM EDT
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A man shot by a Charleston County deputy responding to a call about a possible home invasion received a $750,000 payout from the South Carolina Insurance Reserve Fund.

Bryant Heyward took the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office to court in 2017 after the shooting left him paralyzed from the neck down and needing medical care for the rest of his life.

The officer-involved shooting happened in May 2015, about a month after the Walter Scott incident in North Charleston.

Heyward had called 911 to report some “would be” intruders shooting into his home. And according to a lawsuit he filed against CCSO, Heyward had a gun to protect himself during the encounter and while waiting for deputies to arrive.

Court documents said Heyward told dispatchers he was at the back door of his home. But when deputies arrived and saw Heyward’s gun, one of the deputies fired their weapon and shot Heyward in the neck.

While the sheriff’s office reported that deputies ordered Heyward to drop his weapon before any shots were fired, the lawsuit claimed Heyward was never given a chance to respond.

The SC Attorney General decided there was not enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against the deputy.

The lawsuit claimed Heyward’s medical bills could add up to $25,000,000 over the course of his life, and that’s how much money he hoped to receive through his court action.

Heyward’s attorney, Justin Bamberg, commented on the case’s resolution Thursday.

“With no footage of the shooting, certain factual disputes created a proverbial he-said-he-said situation. However, nothing changes the fact that Bryant was an innocent homeowner shot in a tragic turn of events, and his life will never be the same because of it,” Bamberg said. “This case is a prime example of the importance of body cameras in our state as well as how the government is unnecessarily shielded from accountability under the SC Tort Claims Act, a law which limits the exposure of government when tragic mistakes are made resulting in serious injury to citizens.”

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