Female Deputy Accidentally Shoots Suspect's Mother During Confrontation

Body camera video from a deputy-involved shooting incident from back in October was released as part of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office’s Critical Incident Community Briefing. In the video, Capt. Tim Brown, with the Office of Professional Standards, said deputies were first called to Spinx at the intersection of Pelham and Batesville roads to collect a video tape which had evidence of shoplifting that happened earlier that morning. “After the deputy arrived at the Spinx, the video tape was reviewed by the deputy, who recognized the shoplifting suspect in the video from a previous call that occurred earlier that morning,” Brown said. “The call as regarding an intoxicated subject involved in a non-violent domestic situation with his mother, who had fled the house after the suspect attempted to take her purse to purchase more beer.” Brown said around 12:30 p.m., the deputy left the Spinx and went to a home on Cliffview Court, which she knew was the suspect’s residence.



The suspect, 40-year-old Sean Theodore Kaiser, refused to go into custody and retreated back inside, where the deputy followed. Kaiser was not armed. He said to the female deputy, "don't touch me" and "I'm stronger than you." After several minutes of negotiating and attempting to put Kaiser in handcuffs, the footage shows, Kaiser grabbed the deputy's arm, shoved her and put his body on top of her until she broke free a moment later. The deputy then backed up, drew her firearm and shouted at Kaiser's mother, who had moved in to intervene. The mother stood with Kaiser and asked the deputy to wait for other deputies to arrive. The deputy shouted "no" several times with her handgun still drawn. "Back away," she shouted at the mother repeatedly. "Do not tell me what to do." Kaiser then stood up and charged the deputy when the deputy fired one shot, striking Kaiser's mother, who was standing behind him. The deputy then fired another round that did not strike anyone, and then she and Kaiser tussled until they both fell on the floor. On the scene after the shooting, while sitting on the floor near the deputy, Kaiser said, "Did you (expletive) hurt my mother? You don't hurt my mother."



The mother sat down in an armchair after being wounded. Seconds later, another deputy came in the front door of the home, kicked Kaiser and placed him into custody. "Where's the gun? Does he have a gun?" the second deputy asked before the deputy involved in the shooting said the only gun involved was hers. Kaiser's mother is still recovering in a hospital after undergoing at least 10 procedures, said Jake Erwin, a Greenville-based attorney representing Kaiser for his criminal charges. "There’s lots of bad behavior all over this video, but the reason she's hurt, the reason this poor woman is in the hospital, is because of how the officer acted," Erwin said. The deputy suffered a concussion and was treated at a hospital, said Capt. Tim Brown of the Sheriff's Office's Office of Professional Standards. Kaiser was later charged with resisting arrest with assault, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and shoplifting. He remains in the Greenville County jail without bond.