Quick errand turns into bloody ordeal

Orangeburg County witness describes terror of gunshot, poise of trooper

By ISHMAEL TATE - itate@thestate.com

File photograph/The State

Cpl. Quincy Brown was injured by gunfire in Orangeburg County on Sunday. He is an 8-year Highway Patrol veteran.

Blood was all over the floor inside the El Cheapo store as Jesse Filion burst in, looking for Cpl. Quincy Brown.

He had just seen the state trooper withstand a barrage of gunfire and stagger into the rural Orangeburg County convenience store.

Filion’s first aid training took over. He whipped off his belt and tied it twice around Brown’s left arm, which had been struck by a bullet.

“In that moment, you’re not concerned about making it perfect,” Filion said. “You just try to do what you can do to stop the bleeding.”

Filion, a 26-year-old salesman, learned CPR and first aid in Sea School, training he took when he thought he wanted to be a sea captain.

Inside the convenience store, Filion said, Brown, 33, kept a cool head — telling clerks and patrons to take cover in the back of the store and calling for back-up. He scanned the front of the store to see if the man who shot him had returned.

Convinced the coast was clear, Filion and Brown walked back outside, picking their way through bullet casings and blood.

Filion flagged down an unmarked police car for the officer. Within minutes, the parking lot was awash in yellow crime scene tape and flashing lights.

The three suspects had fled into nearby woods after the shooting. They would be captured within hours.

Anthony D. Glover, 21, Anthony T. Glover, 34, and Michael Glover, 37, are charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Anthony T. Glover and Michael Glover are Anthony D. Glover’s uncles.

On Monday, a magistrate denied bail for all three, First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said.

During that hearing, Pascoe said, Anthony D. Glover admitted firing at the trooper, contending he was afraid because the officer was “roughing up his uncle.”

Glover also mentioned all the “attention” the Highway Patrol has received in recent weeks, Pascoe said, with the release of dashboard camera videos of various unrelated incidents.

JUST SEEKING A SODA

For Filion, it all started with a Pepsi run to the El Cheapo at U.S. 176 near U.S. 301. It’s a short trip he takes often when he is in town visiting his mother in Elloree.

But just before 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Brown’s cruiser and a silver Malibu were blocking the driveway.

One man, already handcuffed, was standing at Brown’s cruiser.

Filion waited patiently in his Jeep behind the cruiser.

“He had one cuff on one guy when the glass shattered and bullets started flying,” Filion said.

Someone was shooting from the back seat of the car. Brown ran away from the car and managed to return fire.

Pascoe said at least eight .45-caliber pistol shots were fired at Brown — two of which hit the trooper in the arm; one hit him on his protective vest; and another struck his police radio.

Filion said he has had trouble sleeping since the shooting.

“You cannot imagine what it’s like seeing a person get shot,” he said. “Nothing on TV or video games prepares you for that. Until you have seen what it does to a human body ... it’s the worst thing ever.”

Brown, an eight-year veteran with the Highway Patrol, suffered a broken left forearm. He was treated at Palmetto Health Richland and released on Monday, Department of Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden said.

The experience also has given Filion a different perspective on law enforcement.

“When you see an officer stopping someone on the highway, and then three minutes later his back-up shows up, you may say, ‘That seems a little too much for a traffic stop.,’ ” he said. “Then you see something like this and you understand (back-up) is for the officer’s safety ...

“I mean, look at this guy. He could have lost his life in a matter of seconds, and he didn’t even blink twice.”

Staff writer Rick Brundrett contributed. Reach Tate at (803) 771-8549.