Man hit with stun gun after a chase dies, sheriff says. Now he’s identified by SC coroner
A man died Wednesday after Lexington County deputies used a stun gun to subdue him following a chase, the sheriff said.
Bernice Junior Smith III, a 32-year-old Aiken resident, was identified as the man who died after 1:30 p.m., according to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher.
Investigations into the incident and the man’s death are underway, Sheriff Jay Koon said. The sheriff’s department, coroner’s office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are investigating the death. Koon said he asked SLED to “conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.”
The sheriff said the incident began when one of his deputies was at a business in Red Bank and saw a man wanted on a shoplifting charge, later identified as Smith.
“The deputy approached the man and started a conversation; however, the man ran away after being informed about the outstanding warrant,” Koon said in the release. “It is my understanding the man ran into the woods. Deputies ran after him and eventually used a Taser to subdue him after he was located and was noncompliant with verbal commands.”
Information about where Smith was taken into custody, and how far that is from where the chase began, was not available.
Deputies handcuffed Smith and were walking him back to a patrol vehicle when he began “showing signs of medical distress,” the sheriff said. The deputies eventually took off the handcuffs and provided medical aid to Smith until paramedics arrived to take him to an area hospital, according to the release.
Smith was unresponsive when he was transported by Lexington County EMS, and he died shortly after arriving at the hospital, according to the Lexington County Coroner’s Office.
No other injuries were reported.
No cause of death has been released, but Fisher said an autopsy is scheduled for Friday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
The three deputies involved in the incident were placed on paid administrative leave, according to the release.
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This story was originally published August 10, 2023 at 8:11 AM.
