WARNING: Video contains graphic language.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Agents from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division continue to work their investigation of an incident Thursday when a man was shot and wounded during a confrontation with deputies of the Berkeley County and Clarendon County Sheriff’s Departments following a multi county vehicle pursuit that ended on Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County.
The chase began when officers responded to call from a woman saying that her husband was kidnapping her at gunpoint.
The suspect Daniel Brooks Ward, 34, of Summerville has a long history with law enforcement in Berkeley County. He has been charged around a dozen times with crimes ranging from domestic violence to arson. Today’s kidnapping was his second.
SLED conducts law enforcement officer involved shooting investigations at the request of the agency involved in the incident. The independent investigation follows SLED’s guidance in conducting interviews along with the gathering and analysis of forensic evidence. Interviews are being conducted with the responding officers and others. There is no body cam video of the incident. There is dash cam video and efforts are underway to determine whether any video shows the shooting.
Information gathers in the SLED investigation will be summarized in a case file report to be submitted to prosecutors in the First Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
The incident was the 13th officer involved shooting in South Carolina in 2016. It is the second officer involved shooting this year involving a deputy of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department and first involving a deputy of the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Department. In 2015, there were 48 officer involved shooting incidents in South Carolina, three involved the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department and none involved the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Department.Editor’s Note: The above information is from a submitted press release