‘It’s not natural’: Beaufort community struggles in wake of 24-year-old man’s death

As a 24-year-old Seabrook man who died after a confrontation with Beaufort County deputies is laid to rest Wednesday, questions about the level of trust between the African American community and law enforcement remain unanswered.

“There is a concern, there’s a hurt, there’s a loss,” the Rev. Kenneth Hodges of Tabernacle Baptist Church said Tuesday. “It’s not natural for a 24-year-old to lose his life because the family reached out for help.”

Trey Pringle died Feb. 20 after Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a residence on Detour Road. A relative called 911 on Feb. 17 to report Pringle was “out of control, injured, bleeding and in need of assistance.”

Hodges, a former state representative, has visited Pringle’s family, along with several other ministers and members of the Beaufort religious community, to offer condolences.

“I think the family is handling it quite well,” Hodges said. “ ... The family really is focusing on healing and moving forward.”

Hodges is concerned about the effect the death has on the community.

“In the broader community, it seems to be resonating,” he said. “A lot of people, specifically young people, are very concerned about the fact that something went wrong. They felt that the issue perhaps could have been handled in a different manner.

“I do not sense anger, but I do see a sense of concern where it appears that the family did the right thing when they reached out for help and invited someone to come in because it was a situation that they felt they were not qualified at handling. And then, as a result of help arriving, a person somehow lost his life.”

What Hodges and community members want to know is what happened in that Seabrook home and why.

“ ... The whole issue has to be investigated to alleviate the cloud that is over it to actually get to the bottom of it,” he said. “No one is accusing anyone of doing anything wrong.”

That investigation is being handled by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division. It is on-going, SLED spokesman Thom Berry said Tuesday.

The two deputies involved in the struggle with Pringle remain at the Sheriff’s Office working their regular shifts and duties, Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Tuesday. There is no protocol on whether a sheriff’s department must place deputies involved in a SLED investigation on any kind of leave, he said. Tanner had earlier declined to name the deputies involved.

Hodges worries about how Pringle’s death will affect the community’s relationship with law enforcement.

“I think in certain communities there has always been a little hesitancy and reluctance to reach out to law enforcement for help,” he said. “I think more people are open to do it now, but that is something that law enforcement must continue to work on within the community to develop that level of trust.”

When Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the home, Pringle had allegedly broken items inside the residence. He later 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 - one of them a “drive stun” in which the device is held directly to the subject’s body — and physically restrained by the deputies and other first responders at the scene.

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

Pringle’s funeral will be at noon on Wednesday at Pine Grove Baptist Church in Burton. Burial will follow in the Seabrook Cemetery.

Though he cannot attend, Hodges said he expects a large number of mourners.

“When (people) reach out to law enforcement, they want to make sure that everything is handled appropriately and that the proper training is in place for those who respond as they come in to intervene in a crisis situation with their loved ones,” he said. “... I’m hoping that an issue like this will not result in people ... not willing to reach out to law enforcement because many people are wrestling with situations they cannot handle on their own.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 3:51 PM with the headline "‘It’s not natural’: Beaufort community struggles in wake of 24-year-old man’s death."