‘Help!’: Deputy Chased Driver to a Home for Speeding, Shot Him Dead On the Couch, Then Let K-9 Maul a Bystander — Bodycam Captured Everything. Now the Lawsuits Are Rolling In
It was over a speeding violation that a South Carolina deputy busted into a man’s home with his unleashed K9 last year, shooting an unarmed man while allowing his dog to maul an elderly man who had nothing to do with the traffic infraction. But Florence County sheriff’s deputy Treyvon Sellers remained employed for another three months until he was arrested for an unrelated domestic violence incident in a neighboring county where he was beating his wife in public and berating witnesses – which is what led to his termination. It was his second domestic violence arrest in two years. Three weeks later, he was charged with manslaughter, assault and battery and official misconduct over the incident that left one Black man dead and another Black man mauled by his police dog. Earlier this month, two lawsuits were filed against the Florence County Sheriff’s Office over that incident, including one lawsuit from the elderly man who was left with permanent injuries and the other from the brother of the man killed by Sellers. Former South Carolina sheriff's deputy Treyvon Sellers is awaiting trial for manslaughter and other charges for shooting and killing an unarmed man over a speeding violation while allowing his police dog to maul an innocent man. (Photos: Florence County Sheriff's Office body camera and mugshot) The incident was caught on video and shows Sellers entering the home without a warrant while barking contradictory orders to William Rankin, 43, the man he had been pursuing for speeding. “Get on the f**king ground!” he yelled at Rankin who was lying on a couch, trying to hide beneath a cushion. Then when it appears that Rankin was trying to comply with his orders, Sellers says, “If you move, I’ll f**king shoot you.” Sellers then fired twice, striking Rankin in the chest, followed by another three shots after Rankin had turned his body around. Meanwhile, the police dog, a Belgian Malinois named Ikar continued to maul Johnny Hood, the 72-year-old man who owned the home he shared with Rankin. “Please, God, help,” Cooper repeatedly begged. “I didn’t do nothing,” “One dog bite and one shots fired,” Sellers told the dispatcher, holding the dog by the collar. History of Violence The incident took place on May 26, 2024, after Sellers said he spotted Rankin speeding even though he did not use a radar detector to determine his speed, the claim states. Sellers pursued him for several miles until Rankin pulled onto a property, running into a tree and jumping out the car to run into the home. Dash cam video shows Sellers pulling onto the property and running after him, using a remote control device to unlock the back door to his patrol car, releasing the dog. Sellers then opened the door to the home which was unlocked, allowing the dog to run inside, where he began attacking Cooper, who had been doing nothing more than minding his own business inside his own home. Sellers follows Ikur into the home, spotting Rankin on the couch partially hidden under a cushion where he barked his contradictory orders before shooting him five times. Rankin was pronounced dead at a local hospital. According to the lawsuit filed by Cooper: Sellers’ below listed actions and conduct throughout this incident were completely unnecessary, unjustified and outside of generally accepted police practice: initiating a initial traffic stop without reasonable cause or justification; recklessly and catastrophically deciding to enter Plaintiff’s home without supervisory direction or consent, without a warrant despite their being no exigent circumstances; sending an aggressive K9 with a known history of attacking citizens into Plaintiff’s home with an attack command without having issued any warning and without having any idea who was in the home; failing to disengage the deadly K9 after observing that Plaintiff was an elderly and sickly gentleman that posed no threat whatsoever; utilizing deadly force upon an unarmed William Rankin; utilizing deadly K9 force upon unknown occupants in the home; failing to utilize K9 commands for which the K9 was trained to respond; after K9, Ikar, was pulled from Plaintiff, in further assaulting Plaintiff by keeping the K9 in close proximity to Plaintiff who lied in the floor with substantial injuries; The lawsuit filed by Rankin’s brother states the following: Sellers was previously employed as an officer by the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office. While employed with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, Sellers was arrested for Domestic Violence. Upon information and belief, he was terminated from his employment as a sworn officer because of the arrest. Less than one year later, Sellers was hired by Defendant FCSO. That this hire was made by Defendant FCSO with little to no comprehensive review or background check performed. That the hiring of Sellers, despite his recent history of arrest for Domestic Violence, created a foreseeable risk of further harm, including the potential use of unreasonable force. By hiring Sellers, Defendant FCSO exposed the public and its officers to unnecessary risks. Department Turned a Blind Eye Although Florence County Sheriff acted as if was not aware of the previous arrest, his “training history report” from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy states that he resigned from the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office on February 23, 2022. It also answers “yes” to the questions as to whether there is a pending criminal investigation and pending criminal charges against the officer on page 18 of the 19-page report. A simple Google search of his name would have brought up his mugshot over that arrest. However, it appears he was cleared and those charges expunged, because they do not appear on the Darlington County online court website. And the training history report states he worked for the Darlington Police Department from April to July 2022 before rejoining the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office for another two months before he was hired by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. The claim states he then continued his violent ways without any disciplinary action from his superiors. Upon information and belief, Sellers and his K9, Ikar, have previously been involved in incidents that violated Defendant FCSO’s own policies and procedures due to not being trained or certified appropriately, and also involved excessive force being used on individuals, yet Defendant FCSO turned a blind eye to these incidents and allowed Sellers and Ikar to continue their patrol duties with no measures taking place concerning their conduct. Sellers remains free on bond as he awaits trial for the shooting/dog mauling incident as well as the domestic violence incident. Cooper’s lawsuit was filed by the South Carolina law firms; Wright, Worley, Pope, Easter & Moss as well as Robert E. Lee law firm and accuses Sellers and the Florence County Sheriff’s Office of negligence, assault and battery. Rankin’s lawsuit makes the same claims and was filed by the South Carolina law firms; The Parker Law Group, The Law Office of Linward C. Edwards, II and The Law Office of Chaquez T. McCall.
