MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A lawsuit filed by a man who was injured and paralyzed in a drug raid in Myrtle Beach will be settled out of court, according to court documents.
Court documents say lawyers for Julian Ray Betton and the City of Myrtle Beach filed on Thursday for a stay of the case for 30 days so that both sides can finalize the terms of the settlement.
The trial for this case was expected to begin later this month.
The portion of the lawsuit against Myrtle Beach Police Officer David BeLue was dismissed with prejudice.
Betton was hit nine times by officers who fired 57 shots at him during a raid of his Myrtle Beach home in April 2015, according to the lawsuit. Betton settled with the DEU task force, the 15th Circuit Court solicitor and other parties for $2.75 million in 2018.
A SLED investigation found Betton pointed his gun at officers, but he didn’t fire the gun. According to the lawsuit, plainclothes officers were not identified as police when they burst through his door.
The federal case revealed changing stories from the police. Initially, most of the agents told SLED investigators they had knocked on Betton’s door, as required by the search warrant, before entering his home. But surveillance video, showing officers quickly ramming Betton’s door, appeared to contradict the story from the police.
Enforcement agents claimed worries about safety because, they said, Betton was known to carry a weapon with him.
The parties who settled with Betton for $2.75 million include DEU commander Bill Knowles, Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, DEU deputy commander Dean Bishop, Coastal Carolina police officers Chad Guess and Frank Waddell, and Horry County sheriff’s deputy Chris Dennis, according to Betton’s attorney.
LATEST HEADLINES:
