By Betsy Finklea
A man was killed in an officer-involved shooting on Pocosin Road in the Oak Grove area on Wednesday, according to Captain Cliff Arnette of the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office.
Coroner Donnie Grimsley identified the man as John Wesley Smith, age 27.
Services for Smith were held Saturday directed by Cooper Funeral Home.
According to Thom Berry of SLED, they received notification Wednesday afternoon and sent agents from their regional office and crime scene technicians.
SLED released a press release on Thursday morning. It states the following:
“Agents of the S.C. Law Enforcement Division continue work in their investigation of an incident Wednesday when a man was killed during a confrontation with a deputy of the Dillon County Sheriff’s Department. SLED conducts law enforcement officer- involved shooting investigations at the request of the agency involved in the incident. This 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 known video of the incident. Information gathered in the SLED investigation will be summarized in a case file report to be submitted to prosecutors in the Fourth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. This is an ongoing investigation. No other information about the case will be disclosed by SLED at this time. SLED will defer to the Dillon County Sheriff’s Department for information about any deputies involved in the incident. The incident was the fifth officer-involved shooting in South Carolina in 2016 and the first this year involving a deputy of the Dillon County Sheriff’s Department. In 2015, there were 48 officer-involved shooting incidents in South Carolina, none involved the Dillon County Sheriff’s Department.”
Captain Arnette said that the deputy involved in the shooting is on administrative leave. The deputy’s name is not being released at this time.
