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CLOVER, S.C. – The York County Sheriff’s Office is calling what happened Tuesday night “an unfortunate incident” and is issuing a warning to other drivers: “Please do not exit your vehicle. Wait until we approach your vehicle.” Sheriff’s spokesman Trent Faris won’t explain much, but says Deputy Terrance Knox pulled over the driver of a white truck at Highway 321 and Mosteller Street north of Clover.
Knox apparently made the stop because the driver, 70-year-old Bobby Dean Canipe, had an expired license plate. Faris says dash cam video from the cruiser shows Canipe exit his vehicle and reach into the truck bed. He says, “Deputy Knox was forced to make a split second, life or death decision and fired his weapon several times, striking Mr. Canipe once.”
What Canipe grabbed from the back of his truck was a walking cane. Knox, who’s been with the Sheriff’s Office for almost three years, apparently thought it was a long barrel rifle. You can see where one of the deputy’s bullets hit the truck’s windshield. There was a passenger in the truck: Canipe’s girlfriend. She was not hurt. Canipe was shot in the abdomen.
A statement from the Sheriff’s Office says in part Deputy Knox “rendered aid to Mr. Canipe until EMS arrived.” So far, the York County Sheriff’s Office says Knox had “an appropriate response to what he believed to be an imminent threat.” Faris says, “This is an unfortunate situation.”
Canipe is listed in serious condition. The sheriff’s spokesman wouldn’t say how many shots the deputy fired. He also said the dash cam video will not be released. The deputy is on paid administrative leave while state police investigate.
