York County SWAT Deputy’s Actions Deemed Justified in Fatal Shooting Incident

Prosecutor Clears Deputy in Deadly Confrontation with Armed Man

A York Coun­ty SWAT deputy has been cleared of wrong­do­ing in the fatal shoot­ing of an armed man dur­ing a tense stand­off ear­li­er this year.

Kevin Brack­ett, the 16th Cir­cuit Solic­i­tor, has ruled that the use of force was jus­ti­fied giv­en the cir­cum­stances sur­round­ing the incident.

Details of the Incident

On March 3, 2024, York Coun­ty Sher­if­f’s Office SWAT deputy Berlin Gip­son was involved in a shoot­ing that result­ed in the death of 62-year-old Char­lie Bak­er of Clover, South Car­oli­na. The inci­dent occurred after a two-hour nego­ti­a­tion with law enforcement.

Key Points of the Investigation

• Bak­er alleged­ly point­ed a rifle at deputies approach­ing his truck
• Deputy Gip­son fired a sin­gle, fatal shot
• The State Law Enforce­ment Divi­sion (SLED) con­duct­ed the investigation
• Pros­e­cu­tor Kevin Brack­ett reviewed the findings

Prosecutor’s Decision

In a let­ter to SLED, Brack­ett stat­ed, “The use of force by Deputy Gip­son was both nec­es­sary and appro­pri­ate giv­en the lev­el of threat posed by Mr. Bak­er to the oth­er offi­cers on the scene. He was law­ful­ly act­ing in defense of oth­ers, and the shoot­ing was justified.”

Timeline of Events

1. Two-hour nego­ti­a­tion with Baker
2. Bak­er appeared to place the rifle on the dashboard
3. Offi­cers fired non-lethal tear gas into the truck
4. As offi­cers approached, Bak­er bran­dished his firearm
5. Deputy Gip­son fired the fatal shot

Implications and Transparency

York Coun­ty Sher­iff Kevin Tol­son empha­sized the impor­tance of unbi­ased inves­ti­ga­tions into offi­cer-involved shoot­ings. Pros­e­cu­tor Brack­ett also stressed the need for pub­lic trans­paren­cy and account­abil­i­ty in such cases.

Ongoing Investigations

This inci­dent was the first of two fatal shoot­ings involv­ing York Coun­ty deputies in ear­ly 2024. A review of the sec­ond shoot­ing, which occurred in April 2024 near Rock Hill, is still ongoing.