Beaufort County family asks for privacy after deputy-involved Taser death

Three days after the death of a Seabrook man who died after he had a Taser used on him three times by Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies, his family has asked for privacy as the investigation into his death continues.

Trey Pringle, 24, died Tuesday morning after Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a residence on Detour Road on Feb. 17. A relative of Pringle’s called 911 to report Pringle was “out of control, injured, bleeding and in need of medical assistance.”

“The Pringle family is deeply saddened by the death of our loved one, Trey Pringle,” Jovonda Pringle, who identified herself on Facebook as the dead man’s aunt, wrote to a reporter. “Trey is loved by family and friends alike and he will be missed. As we grieve the loss of Trey, we ask that you respect our privacy and give us an opportunity to process this. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers.”

Pringle allegedly broke items inside the home and punched one deputy and injured another, according to a sheriff’s office report.

He lost consciousness after he was stunned three times by a Taser, the report said. He was physically restrained by two deputies and other first responders at the scene, according to a separate sheriff’s office news release.

According to the report, Pringle went into cardiac arrest after he was handcuffed and his legs were bound. First responders administered CPR and he was taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, where he died four days later.

Beaufort County Deputy Coroner David Ott said Friday that he does not expect the results of Pringle’s autopsy for another eight weeks.

The incident is being investigated by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.

Taser guidelines

Sheriff’s office’s general orders — a set of guidelines for deputies — says the use of Tasers may be appropriate in situations including but not limited to those involving a violent combative subject, an emotionally disturbed person, a person suffering from the symptoms of excited delirium or a person under the influence of a mind-altering drug.

The weapons are considered “less than lethal” in the office’s use of force orders.

In the sheriff’s office report, a medic told a deputy “due to the (redacted) medical and mental history, as well as the way he was acting and the amount of blood observed at the scene, (redacted) needed to get transported (to the hospital).”

Deputies along with first responders from the Burton Fire District and Beaufort County EMS tried to speak with Pringle, but he refused to answer questions.

The general orders also discourage the use of the “drive stun” method in Taser use — when the weapon is held against the subject’s body. Exceptions include situations where probe deployment is not possible, when the probes are too close or when only one probe has attached. The “drive stun” method is used when it “will bring a subject displaying active, aggressive or aggravated aggressive resistance safely under control.”

The final shock Pringle received from a deputy was a “drive stun” to the back of one of his legs, according to the report. A deputy wrote that Pringle “went to the ground” he was stunned with a Taser for a second time and continued to “actively fight” deputies by “kicking and trying to break free.”

“Since we still did not have positive control of (Pringle), I drive stunned him with my Taser on the back of the leg until we were able to secure his hands in handcuffs,” the deputy wrote.

National data

According to a Reuters report from August of 2017, 1,005 incidents have been reported in the U.S. that resulted in death after people were stunned with police Tasers.

Nearly all of those deaths have been reported since the early 2000s.

Whether Tasers were the main cause of death in those cases remains unclear.

A quarter of the people who died suffered from a mental health breakdown or neurological disorder, the report said.

In nine of every 10 incidents, the person who died was unarmed. More than 100 of the fatalities began with a 911 all for help during a medical emergency.

Deputy training

Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Friday that all of his officers have undergone “in-service on mental illness training” through the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy this year.

He added that 25 staff members also took a 40-hour course through the National Alliance on Mental Illness and have been certified.

“Even though we’ve done our in-service training in the academy, (NAMI) is over and above that,” Tanner said. “At some point in time, we will hopefully have all our staff trained through the NAMI class.”

Tanner said the NAMI course is more “robust” and covers post-traumatic stress disorder and how to communicate effectively with those who may be in mental distress.

The courses, he said, cover communication and do not teach defensive tactics.

Tanner declined to comment on whether either of the two deputies involved in the incident with Pringle took the NAMI course. He declined to name those deputies Thursday, citing the ongoing SLED investigation.

This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Beaufort County family asks for privacy after deputy-involved Taser death."