| Greenville News
Police officers who exchanged shots with a 25-year-old man inside a law firm in Greenville last spring were cleared of criminal offenses, but the father of the man who was killed believes the investigation was a failure.
W. Benjamin McClain Jr., a defense attorney with an office in front of the Greenville Zoo, said his son did not kill himself, despite a report by the State Law Enforcement Division concluding that this was what happened at the end of a shooting there.
South Carolina’s top law enforcement agency’s report, obtained by The Greenville News through a Freedom of Information Act request, said that W. Benjamin McClain III suffered from a mental disorder, referring to him as “paranoid schizophrenic”.
“He was not ‘paranoid schizophrenic’,” said his father, McClain Jr. “The SLED report, to say the least, is inaccurate. They will say he was this, he was that. He was a good young man.”
McClain III died in the early hours of May 9 on the floor of the law firm. He fired through a window pane and was shot by police officers outside before pointing a gun at himself and committing suicide, according to the SLED report, which refers to footage from the body camera.
The footage was not evaluated by The Greenville News. Bodycam’s video is exempt from public disclosure through the state’s Freedom of Information Act, although proponents of open records say that should change.
After SLED completed its investigation into the shooting, police at the scene were cleared of criminal offenses based on SLED’s findings, according to a letter from the 13th Circuit attorney Walt Wilkins to SLED, obtained by The News.
Bailiff Janicke was the only officer who shot McClain III, according to the investigative report. At least three other police officers are mentioned as being at the scene during the confrontation, the sergeant. Michelle Lentz, Officer Jeff Smith and Officer Noel Tuck. The four officers are still employed by the Greenville Police Department, according to information from the state’s Academy of Criminal Justice.
McClain Jr. claims his son was shot by the police.
What happened during the police shooting at the Greenville attorney’s office
The facade of a building riddled with bullets and shattered glass on the front sidewalk portrayed the dramatic scene that erupted between McClain III and the policemen who appeared to investigate the sound of gunshots after midnight on Thursday.
Police officers drove to the building around 12:45 pm on May 9 to meet McClain III and a friend, Dylan Collins, outside the office, in the parking lot, heading back inside. An officer reported seeing McClain reach into his waist, and the officer drew his gun and gave verbal orders aloud to stop while McClain continued to enter the building, the SLED report said. The policeman grabbed Collins and pulled him out of the office door before he could close the door, and the policeman handcuffed him, according to the report.
A message sent to Collins via Facebook was not returned.
Minutes after McClain III entered the office, Tuck was standing near the front glass window and reported hearing a “firearm blade holder”, according to the report. Tuck shouted, “Greenville Police Department. Get out with your hands up!” According to the report.
Six to ten bullets whizzed through Tuck’s head as he dived out of the line of fire, according to the report.
McClain, from inside the office, fired four shots from a rifle and three more from a pistol while Janicke, who had already aimed in front of the building, returned eight shots from his police rifle, according to the SLED report.
After officers reported hearing a muffled gunshot from inside the office, McClain Jr., the father and owner of the law firm, left with his hands up, according to the report.
The police stayed outside for an hour before determining that the sniper was dead, according to the report. McClain III’s sister came out of the building and was “visibly upset and shouting that her brother was dead,” the report said.
None of the officers were hit by bullets, although one was cut in the face because of shattered glass, according to the report.
That night started on May 8 as a celebration for the McClains, according to the SLED report. McClain III’s sister had just graduated from nursing school and she and her fiance arrived at the law firm with food to be with McClain Jr. and McClain III. When the office closed for the day, the group drank alcohol and watched movies, according to the report.
While McClain III’s father and sister went to sleep in the back of the office, McClain III and Collins stayed awake and watched videos on YouTube and TikTok, the report said.
Collins told the police that later that night they heard gunshots outside, so they went to take a look. He told police that in the past there were people upset about the results of some of McClain Jr.’s cases. While Collins and McClain III were outside, the officers approached them, according to the report.
Collins claimed that they never heard the police identify themselves, but a review of the body camera images showed that the police announced their presence and identified themselves as police, according to the SLED report.
Police ‘have to protect themselves’, says police attorney
When interviewed later by the police, McClain Jr. told officers that his son had bipolar disorder and was taking medication for the disease, according to the report. An autopsy revealed that McClain III was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time of the shooting, the investigative file shows.
“I disagree with what they say and we will see what the future will bring,” said McClain Jr ..
Collins told police that McClain III looked “normal” that day, but that his mood would change dramatically, the report said.
A gun chest was inside the law firm, but McClain Jr. told police that he wasn’t sure if McClain III had opened it. McClain Jr. told police he knew of no reason for his son to shoot the police, the report said.
Pictures of a recovered cell phone showed McClain III and his friend posing with the same weapons found there, the report said.
McClain Jr. told The News that he plans to conduct his own investigation into the shooting.
“I was there, I am his father and I know that (the SLED report) is full of lies,” he said.
SLED routinely investigates shootings involving police in South Carolina at the request of local agency leaders.
Janicke, Tuck and Smith were accompanied by lawyers when speaking with SLED agents and provided written statements. Lentz provided a written statement and answered follow-up questions by the investigators on their own, according to the SLED report.
Michael Laubshire, who represents Janicke and Tuck, said that any loss of life is a tragedy, and he said the “SLED report speaks for itself”.
“My clients and my heart are with the family. It is terrible that such a tragedy has happened,” said Laubshire. “However, the police have to protect themselves and the community and face the situation as they do.”
Lucas Marchant, who represents Smith, shared the same sentiment.
“While we respect Mr. McClain’s position, Mr. Smith fully cooperated with the investigation and was acquitted,” he said in an email to The News.
McClain Jr. said he wrote McClain III’s obituary, which describes him as a Christian man who loved his family and was studying video game design. He was smart, versatile, generous and loyal, says the obituary.
A previous incident report obtained from the Greenville Police Department showed McClain III’s involvement with the police in 2016, when officers carried out a search warrant at a residence where McClain III was staying.
On June 3, 2016, police broke into the front door when no one answered the initial knock and found McClain III and another man near a rifle, a .22 caliber pistol, marijuana, digital scales and drug paraphernalia, the report said.
McClain III carried out the officers’ orders and was taken into custody. Court records show that he pleaded guilty to marijuana possession and received credit for his time spent in prison after being arrested.
Daniel J. Gross is an investigative surveillance reporter with a focus on public safety and law enforcement for Greenville News. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @danieljgross.