Man Shot by Cop in Confused Home Invasion Shooting Cannot Feel Lower Body, Attorney Says
An incident report released by the sheriff's office says cop's view was blocked.
— -- Bryant Heyward, the man who was shot during a home invasion call in South Carolina admits he should have dropped his gun during the confusing moments when police first arrived at the scene, according to an audio recording released today.
Names of the South Carolina police officers and the resident they shot during a home invasion call were released today along with an incident report that said one deputy was blocking the other's view.
"I should have put the gun down, but I didn't and he [the officer] thought I was the crook," Heyward is heard saying in an interview conducted by a deputy investigator in the ambulance. The recording was played during a community meeting this afternoon in Charleston, South Carolina, between Charleston County Sheriff's officials and about a half-dozen community leaders.
"I have absolutely no reason to believe, nor have I heard any facts, to say that he pointed the firearm at the officers or anything like that," one of Heyward’s attorneys said today, adding that Heyward is unable to speak now and can’t feel or move his lower body.
After receiving a desperate 911 call, Charleston County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched Thursday morning to a home in Hollywood, South Carolina, with a report of shots fired and a home invasion. When they arrived, they observed one of the front windows had a gunshot hole, the incident report released today said.
"I have absolutely no reason to believe, nor have I heard any facts, to say that he pointed the firearm at the officers or anything like that," one of Heyward’s attorneys said today, adding that Heyward is unable to speak now and can’t feel or move his lower body.
As the police officers approached "the back door swung open," according to the incident report, but the view of one of the deputies was blocked. Deputy Tyner "shouted verbal commands and that there was a gun," the report states, then Deputy Keith Tyner "fired to suppress the threat."
In the recording of the 911 call, made public by police on Thursday, the victim tells the dispatcher that two men with guns are trying to break into his house, banging at the window. Later in the call, he pleads with the dispatcher for the police to hurry. The resident who was shot sustained "life-threatening" injuries, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office said on Thursday.
The incident report states the deputy "immediately rendered aide as soon as we realize victim was injured," then they called for EMS and the fire department. The victim is identified in the incident report as Bryan Heyward, but his family attorney confirmed his first name is Bryant. Records also indicate Heyward's grandmother Isabelle Heyward also lives on that street. A family member who identified herself as Heyward's mother at the home of Isabelle Heyward declined to comment to ABC News.
A statement from the police said that when the deputies arrived, two black male suspects were seen fleeing the house on bicycles toward the backyard.
"Our deputies proceeded to the rear of the home and were confronted by an armed subject exiting or standing at the back door of the residence," the sheriff's statement read. "Our deputies challenged the subject [later identified as Heyward] and ordered him to drop his weapon, which he didn't at the time. As a result, one of our deputies fired his service weapon striking the subject once in the neck area."
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday that they arrested and charged a man for first-degree burglary and attempted murder for his involvement in the home invasion. The Charleston County Sheriff's Office is investigating the home invasion. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
