Body cam footage shows deputy ‘accidentally’ shoot mother of suspected shoplifter

Greenville, SC (ABC/WJCL) —The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage Wednesday morning from an Oct. 20 incident. The footage showed a deputy shooting the mother of a shoplifting suspect.

The department said the officer accidentally shot the woman while at the home of a person suspected of shoplifting in Cliffview Court in Greer.

The suspected shoplifter, 40-year-old Sean Kaiser, was arrested and is charged with resisting arrest with assault, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and shoplifting. He is under investigation by SLED.

The video shows a deputy outside the man’s home in Greer. In it, the officer tries to get Kaiser to go into custody. He refuses and heads back inside through the front door. On his way in, the deputy grabs Kaiser’s shirt. He asks her not to touch him.

While inside, the deputy attempts to put Kaiser into handcuffs. He refuses and retreats up the staircase.

A few minutes later, Kaiser’s mother is seen in the footage holding the 40-year-old back from charging the deputy. He breaks free and charges toward her. That’s when the deputy fires a shot, missing him and instead hitting his mother, who was later hospitalized. The deputy fires another shot, which did not hit anyone.

The deputy’s partner comes inside the house and kicks Kaiser in the head before putting him in handcuffs and placing him under arrest.

The deputy was placed on leave. She is now on administrative leave, according to Greenville County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ryan Flood.

According to the department, the deputy did not violate policy.

SLED is investigating the incident.

To see the dash cam footage of the October incident click here