Death of man following Tasing by Lexington County deputies ruled accidental
The Lexington County coroner has ruled that the death of an Aiken man, who began suffering medical distress after being tased by law enforcement officers, was accidental and caused by “multi-drug toxicity.”
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher released her ruling in the death of Bernice Junior Smith III Friday afternoon.
The 32-year-old Aiken man died Aug. 9 after he fled into the woods and was tased by Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies, who recognized Smith as having an outstanding shoplifting charge, law enforcement said at the time.
After being handcuffed, Smith began suffering “medical distress,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in August.
Koon in August said that the deputies removed the cuffs and began providing aid to Smith, who was unresponsive. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A spokesperson for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation into Smith’s death by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Koon requested that SLED “conduct a thorough and impartial investigation” following Smith’s death.
The department spokesperson confirmed that the three officers involved in Smith’s arrest remain on paid administrative leave.
Smith’s autopsy was performed Aug. 11 at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, according to a statement released by the coroner’s office.
The pathologist performing the autopsy determined that the cause of death was multi-drug toxicity; however, the drugs were not specified.
The manner of death, which is determined by the coroner, was ruled as “accidental.”
While autopsy results and further details were not released due to privacy laws, a person’s cause and manner of death are considered public information under the Freedom of Information Act.
SLED did not immediate respond to a request for comment on the status of the investigation.
This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 2:55 PM.