The footage, which was taken in October, shows an unidentified deputy attempting to arrest Sean Theodore Kaiser, 40, in the Greenville, South Carolina, home over shoplifting accusations. The footage shows a deputy outside the house trying to arrest Kaiser. As he walks back inside the home through the front door, the deputy grabs Kaiser’s shirt, and he asks her not to touch him.
The deputy follows Kaiser indoors and tries to put him in handcuffs. However, Kaiser refuses to have handcuffs placed on him and goes up a staircase. Moments later, Kaiser’s mother, Dianne Maros, is seen trying to hold back her son from coming toward the officer. However, he manages to break away from his mom and charge toward the deputy, who fires a shot that ends up unintentionally hitting Maros.
The deputy’s partner then comes inside and places Kaiser in handcuffs after kicking him in the head. Kaiser has been charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest with assault and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
"It did not seem that there was any reason why she needed to escalate this to potentially deadly force levels at that time," Jake Erwin, Kaiser's lawyer, is quoted as saying, local outlet WYFF reported.
"It was clear to me that the officer escalated the situation several times beyond what was necessary," Erwin added. "She could have treated Sean more like a human being and less like a target, and all of this could have been avoided."
According to a report by the New York Times, the deputy involved in the incident violated departmental policy, Greenville County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Ryan Flood confirmed. The deputy was found to have contravened the department’s “General Order 229,” which outlines use of force during arrests.
Flood is also quoted by multiple outlets as saying that the deputy was placed on administrative duty after the shooting but is back on regular duty at the present time. She also received counseling and remedial training in response to the incident. Greenville County Sheriff's Office Capt. Tim Brown also said that the deputy suffered a concussion and several bruises during the incident.
Maros is in the hospital, where she is recovering from the gunshot.