Do we want cops returning fire on crowded Myrtle Beach streets? | Opinion

Myrtle Beach Police Officer Brandon O’Rourke wasn’t wrong for shooting 18-year-old Jerrius Davis. While Davis died, O’Rourke should not face criminal charges, and it makes sense to return his badge and allow him once again to patrol the city’s streets.

Though his actions were reasonable given the circumstances, I don’t know that they were right.

Davis, a Bennettsville teenager, had terse words with a group of young men on April 26. We don’t know what they said or why Davis walked a few yards away from them, bent over, pulled out a gun and fired four shots on a crowded Ocean Boulevard.

The teen’s decision was senseless and can’t be explained away — shouldn’t be explained away — no matter what words were exchanged between young men police say had been beefing elsewhere. Among the throngs of people walking by just seconds before Davis fired his gun was a man pushing a stroller.

O’Rourke and two colleagues happened to be in a store just feet away from Davis at the time and immediately responded after the sound of gunfire rang out. As Davis ran, O’Rourke pursued him and returned fire, killing Davis. The terrifying scene lasted a couple of seconds.

It’s a tragedy all around, the most tragic part being that another teenager is dead.

But there’s no credible way to examine the video from Myrtle Beach police, which they should have released weeks ago, and blame O’Rourke. He wasn’t at fault. Neither was he responding to a vague 911 call about a possible suspect with a gun. He was an eyewitness to an active shooting. That much is clear, though the police dash cam video is grainy and there’s no audio other than the gun shots.

Sometimes I lament our society is so lost that it sends armed agents of the state to issue traffic tickets, knowing the presence of a gun increases the chances of unnecessary catastrophes.

This isn’t one of those times.

This is the kind of situation when we want armed agents of the state on the scene. Because this society has decided to saturate itself with guns, those agents are needed.

It’s gut-wrenching that Jerrius Davis is gone. I won’t ever feel good about a young life ending violently. That’s true even though I understand why O’Rourke did what he did.

Still, I don’t know if we should want this type of police action to become common.

O’Rourke reasonably responded to an active shooter, just as we want police officers to do.

But does shooting into a crowd to stop someone who had just fired into a different part of that crowd really make the public safer?

One of that night’s 11 victims — some of whom may have been hit by shrapnel or had injuries other than gun shots — believes she was hit not by a bullet from Davis’ gun, but an officer’s. She was taken to the hospital and says an officer told her he was sorry afterward.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating police use of force because of what happened on that April night. And it should. It must. But this isn’t just a question for law enforcement. The rest of us need to be clear about what we want, and what we expect.

By the time O’Rourke fired his five shots, Davis was running away, no longer shooting.

Do we want other cops who find themselves in similar circumstances to return fire even on a crowded street, maybe wanting to take no chances that the shooter might use his gun again?

Do we want them to be trained to take a beat before letting bullets fly at a fleeing suspect, knowing that innocent people are in harm’s way?

Is there a better alternative?

I honestly don’t know. Maybe there are no good options.

This certainly was not a good outcome, even though O’Rourke acted reasonably in an unexpected and tense moment. A teenager’s life cut short is never a good outcome. It’s something to mourn along with his family, not something to celebrate.

But I do know this. We must rethink a gun culture that makes it far too easy for impulsive young men to get guns then feigns surprise when such tragedies continue to unfold.

This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Do we want cops returning fire on crowded Myrtle Beach streets? | Opinion."