Officer Quincy Smith Shot At Point-Blank Range, Incident Captured On $30 Amazon Body Cam [Video]
South Carolina police officer Quincy Smith was shot multiple times by a suspect he was attempting to question, and the entire dramatic, shocking encounter was captured on a tiny camera in the officer’s glasses.
Officer Smith bought the camera for $30 on Amazon.
It’s almost impossible to watch the horrifying footage embedded below without tearing up, given what the officer went through on January 1, 2016, in the town of Estill in Hampton County.
On the day in question, Smith responded to call about someone harassing customers at a convenience store.
Smith spotted the suspect, who was walking and talking a cell phone about a block away and repeatedly ordered him to stop and take his right hand out of his pocket. When the man ignored him, the officer warned him that he would deploy a Taser. The suspect then pulled out a gun and opened fire on the officer with a 9mm handgun, shooting him eight times, according to prosecutors.
Officer Smith managed to get back to his patrol car and notify the dispatcher of shots fired and that he needs help for a wound to the neck. At one point, apparently fearing the worst, Smith asks the dispatcher to convey a message to his family that he loves them.
After what seems like an eternity and much radio traffic with the dispatcher, during which a bystander comforts the officer, other cops and EMTs arrive at the scene.
Smith was shot in the neck, severing a vein, and another bullet hit him in the upper chest. He also suffered two broken arms. The officer is currently still on medical leave.
“If but not for the grace of God and some very good doctors, this would not only have been a murder case, but a death penalty case,” said prosecutor Duffie Stone.
The prosecutor added that the gunman shot Smith at least twice while the officer was laying on the ground.
Estill, South Carolina, Police Officer Quincy Smith's glasses camera used to convict man who shot him: https://t.co/5rm2ZRsqOE
— Josh Mankiewicz (@JoshMankiewicz) August 11, 2017
On Wednesday, following a two-day trial and after deliberating just 45 minutes, a Hampton County jury convicted the gunman, Malcolm Antwan Orr, 29, of attempted murder and possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime. He received the maximum sentence of 35 years behind bars. The footage was used as evidence against Orr during the trial. Authorities released the body cam video into the public domain on Thursday.
Estill is located 52 miles north of Savannah, Georgia, and 93 miles west of Charleston, South Carolina.
The officer’s mom, also a police officer, has established a GoFundMe page for her son as he recovers from his injuries.
Watch the body cam video of Officer Quincy Smith being shot at point-blank range on New Year’s Day 2016 by a gunman who is now headed to jail for 35 years.
[Featured Image by John Gomez/Shutterstock]
