Family of Black Man Killed by SC Trooper Speaks Out

September 30, 2021

“I believe he was murdered”
Friends and family of man killed in Horry County officer-involved shooting want justice

The family of Tristan Vereen, the 33-year-old black man shot and killed by a SC State Trooper earlier this month, will hold a news conference with their attorneys, including national civil rights attorney, Harry Daniels and his co-counsel Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, and community leaders held a press conference on (Wednesday, September 29) at the Horry County Courthouse (1201 3rd Ave. Conway, SC) to call for justice in Vereen’s killing and react to the recent release of recordings surrounding his death.

Vereen was tased twice and then shot by State Trooper Whitney Blake (W.B.) Benton of the S.C. Highway Patrol on September 11, 2021 after Benton illegally stopped him due to a cracked windshield. Driving with a cracked windshield is not a violation of SC state law.

“If the stop is unlawful then the killing is unlawful. Mr. Vereen had the absolute right to resist

the unlawful arrest of Trooper Benton.” the family’s attorneys said in a statement last week. “Unfortunately, we see time after time that the rights that have been afforded to us by the United States Constitution, are not afforded to people of color when it comes to their interaction(s) with law enforcement.”