Sheriff releases video showing deputies fired on homicide suspect holding shower head

A man suspected in a January double homicide was shot and killed by Greenville County Sheriff's deputies after he emerged from a residence wielding a shower head, according to a law enforcement video.

The video shows deputies shooting a man, identified as Gary Pratt Whitten, 36, on Jan. 17 after he stepped out of a home and pointed a "chrome object" toward the officers. According to the GCSO, Whitten had previously discussed intentions of committing “suicide by cop.”

The GCSO, which releases critical incident community briefing videos on shootings involving law enforcement, on Saturday made public body-worn camera footage from two deputies recorded outside a Landrum residence where Whitten was killed. A 911 call months before the shootings also was released.  

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and 13th Circuit solicitor investigation into whether the shooting was justified is active and ongoing, according to Renee Wunderlich, a SLED spokesperson. However, the GCSO Office of Professional Standards conducted a separate investigation that cleared the officers involved, said Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis.

“The eight officers who fired their weapons were determined justified to use force according to the Sheriff’s Office use of force policy,” Lewis said.

The eight officers have returned to duty, according to Greenville County Sheriff's Lt. Ryan Flood.

Three Spartanburg County Sheriff's deputies also have been cleared and returned to duty after an internal investigation, said spokesperson Lt. Kevin Bobo.

The incident began earlier in the day when the Wade Hampton Fire Department responded to a house fire at 10 Millbrooke Circle in Greenville, the Greenville News previously reported. Investigators found two women − Whitten’s mother, Kelli Kaughman Whitten, 56, and girlfriend Anissa Kelley Henderson, 55 − dead inside the home of blunt force trauma. Investigators identified Whitten as the suspect.

'He's got a gun'

According to Flood, who narrated the video briefing, deputies located Whitten at 114 Kirby St., Landrum in Spartanburg County and requested assistance from the Spartanburg Sheriff's Office and Landrum Police Department to apprehend Whitten. The Campobello Police Department also responded. At 7 p.m., deputies arrived at the mobile home where they suspected Whitten was hiding. 

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According to the briefing, deputies spent over 26 minutes trying to persuade Whitten to come out and surrender after confirming with people inside the home that Whitten was there.

The body camera footage shows Whitten stepping outside, extending his arm while holding a “chrome object” and pointing it at deputies. The deputies fired at Whitten, killing him. 

In one body camera footage marked at 7:33 p.m., deputies approach the home and stand behind a patrol vehicle. Once behind the vehicle, deputies began firing at a figure. A second deputy's video shows the incident from a different angle. As the deputy in the video is behind another patrol car, the deputy says, “he’s got a gun” before shooting at Whitten. 

According to Flood, sheriff’s office medics attempted lifesaving efforts on Whitten but he died at the scene.  

Deputies discovered the chrome object that Whitten pointed was a shower head while investigating the shooting, Flood said. 

Call for wellness check warned of concerning behavior

Flood said in the video that the GCSO learned of a previous call made by an unidentified relative requesting a wellness check of Whitten on Sep. 6, months before the shooting. The relative said Whitten had been displaying concerning behavior and told dispatchers that Whitten expressed intentions of dying by what Flood called “suicide by cop.” 

The briefing then displayed a second call on the same day between dispatch, GCSO deputies, and Whitten’s relatives. When dispatch asked if the relative had a phone number for Whitten, the relative responded “he doesn’t have a phone.” 

Dispatch then transferred the phone call to GCSO deputies who had responded and were outside of the Millbrooke Circle residence. A deputy asked the relative if there was anything that would trigger Whitten. 

“We’re out here doing a welfare check on Mr. Gary,” the GCSO deputy said. “Is there any reason that if we went up to door, is that immediately going to trigger him that we’re here? We have call notes saying that he has made threats of suicide by cop, so we don’t want to trigger him."  

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At the time of the phone calls, Whitten was the only person in the home, Flood said in the video. 

“His mom is here with me right now, but his mental state is not good,” the relative said. “We’re not sure what his reaction will be because he has threatened, he would do suicide by cop.” 

When the deputy asked how recently Whitten had talked about “suicide by cop,” his relative said “I don’t know, the last 24 hours. He’s said it multiple times across many years.”