Benjamin Ray Smith, 54

Orangeburg, South Carolina
June 27, 2019

Agents of the S.C. Law Enforcement Division continue their investigation of an incident early Thursday morning when one man was killed in a confrontation with deputies of the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office who had responded to a reported domestic disturbance.

SLED conducts law enforcement officer involved shooting investigations at the request of the agency involved in the incident. These independent investigations follow SLED’s guidance in conducting interviews along with the gathering and analysis of forensic evidence. Interviews are being conducted with the responding officers and others.

There is no dash camera video of the incident. Information gathered in the SLED investigation of the incident will be summarized in a case file report to be submitted to prosecutors. This is an ongoing investigation and SLED will not disclose any other information about the case at this time.

SLED will defer to the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office for any information about their deputies.

The incident in Orangeburg County was the 28th officer involved shooting in South Carolina in 2019 and the first this year involving the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office. In 2018, there were 43 officer-involved shootings in South Carolina; none involved the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.