Cop Arrested After Shooting Driver For Not Wearing His Seat Belt (Video)

Levar Jones

A South Carolina state trooper was arrested and charged with shooting an unarmed driver for not wearing his seat belt.

Groubert pulled over Levar Jones, 35, in a Columbia, SC gas station after he observed Jones not wearing his seat belt on Sept. 4. The patrol unit’s dash cam filmed what happened next.

As Jones got out of his truck, Groubert, 31, demanded Jones’s driver license.

When Jones turned to reach into his truck for the license, Groubert screamed “HE’S GOT A GUN!” and opened fire on Jones.

Jones, who was startled when the shots rang out, dropped his license and wallet on the ground. Instinctively, Jones held his hands in the air in the universal sign for surrender.

Jones, who was hit once in the hip, screamed, “What did I do? . . . I just got my license, you said get my license.”

Groubert can be heard informing Jones that he wasn’t wearing his seat belt.

CBS affiliate WLTX reports that South Carolina Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith fired Groubert Sept. 19 after reviewing the dash cam video.

According to CBS News, Groubert was arrested and charged Wednesday with “assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.”

Groubert faces 20 years in prison if he is convicted.

Fortunately for Jones, who is black, Groubert, who is white, was a bad shot.

And unfortunately for other young black males — including Michael Brown of Ferguson, MO. — the white cops who shot them hit their targets.

Jones will live to tell his story — in his own words — about the cop who shot him for driving while black. The police department will not justify the cop shooting and engage in a cover up of the incident. The media will not dredge up social media photos or videos of Jones throwing gang signs or smoking weed to assassinate his character for doing what most young men do on social media.

According to WLTX, Groubert’s attorney, Barney Geise, says his client is not guilty and he is looking forward to his day in court.