Fired South Carolina trooper charged in shooting of unarmed driver

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON S.C. (Reuters) - A South Carolina state trooper who was fired after shooting and wounding an unarmed driver he stopped for a seat belt violation has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, authorities said. Sean Groubert, a white officer who was fired last week, was charged in South Carolina's Richland County on Wednesday in the Sept. 4 shooting of Levar Jones, who is black. Groubert faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The shooting came in the wake of high-profile cases of white officers using force against black civilians, notably the fatal shooting last month of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold-related death of Eric Garner in New York in July. Both cases sparked protests. Groubert, who pulled over the 35-year-old Jones on a seat belt violation, can be seen in a video released in court on Wednesday firing his weapon four times at Jones, who is standing outside his car but reaching back inside the vehicle. The video then shows Jones backing up quickly, while facing the trooper, and holding up his hands. The trooper orders Jones to "Get on the ground!" and "Put your hands behind your back!" "I was just grabbing my license!" Jones says on the video. "Why did you shoot me?" Jones was struck by one bullet, treated at a hospital and released, police said. "I believe this case was an isolated incident in which Mr. Groubert reacted to a perceived threat where there was none," the head of South Carolina's Department of Public Safety said in a statement announcing the firing of the officer. Barney Giese, an attorney representing Groubert, declined to comment on the case. (Editing by Jonathan Kaminsky and Peter Cooney)