Before & After His Run-In With The Law

South Carolina Taser His mugshot from March shows what Krishmer Bessent looked like before he grabbed a police officer's taser and tried to shoot him with it.

by WKRG Staff/WBTW

Published: Tue, May 19, 2009 - 10:15 am CST Last Updated: Tue, May 19, 2009 - 10:19 am CST

Krishmer Bessent was arrested March 17 on a drunk driving charge. The mugshot taken that day shows what the South Carolina man looked like before he grabbed a police officer's taser Monday and tried to shoot him with it.

A judge set Bessent’s bond at $10,000. Click play to see video of his Monday court appearance.

Read more about this story from from WKRG News 5's sister station WBTW

An Horry County Police officer attempted to stop a Little River man, who police said had an outstanding arrest warrant, before the suspect took off running from police early Monday morning.

Officer Charles Dean attempted to arrest Krishmer Shamar Bessent, 30, just past midnight Monday as Dean saw Bessent walking down Bellamy Road.

Dean was preparing a case file on Bessent from a DUI charge the officer levied against him in March when he ran Bessent’s driver’s license number through dispatch for a criminal history check, according to a police report.

County dispatchers informed Dean that Bessent was wanted on an assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature warrant.

Dean left the precinct office, and drove by Bessent’s Bellamy Drive home, to locate him, but did not see his car at home, according to Dean’s report.

Police said Dean left Bellamy Drive and headed to a bar the officer said he knew Bessent frequented.

Dean reported that he left the bar and headed back down Bellamy Drive and spotted Bessent walking down the road.

The officer made a u-turn and ordered Bessent to place his hands on the patrol car, according to the police report.

The report states that Bessent started resisting and trying to elbow the officer while officer Dean continued working to place Bessent under arrest.

Dean pulled his taser and tried to use it on Bessent, but the taser “failed to deploy,” according to Dean.

Bessent continued trying to grab the officer’s taser before both men fell into a ditch, knocking the taser out of Dean’s hand, according to the report.

Bessent and Dean continued wresting over the taser before Bessent got a hand on the taser and fired it, driving the prongs into the ground, according to Dean’s report.

The officer hit Bessent in the face “multiple times,” because Dean reported the situation, “put me in fear for my life.”

Bessent told a county magistrate at his bond hearing Monday, “I didn’t assault him, he assaulted me.”

On March 17, Dean arrested Bessent and charged him with driving under the influence, according to court records.

Bessent is free on bond on the DUI charge and has requested a jury trial in the case.

Medics took Bessent and Dean to the Seacoast emergency room with injuries following the fight Monday.

Dean was treated for a black eye and a wrist injury.

Bessent was treated and released from the hospital Monday afternoon and booked in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Bessent faces an assault on a police officer while resisting arrest charge.

A county magistrate set Bessent’s bond at $10,000 on the charge Monday afternoon.

Bessent remains jailed without bond on the assault and battery charge.

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BamaBob Says:

Wed, May 20, 2009 at 8:52 am

Another news source says the guy was released after posting $30,000 bail. Sounds like this case may be evolving.

If this arrest went down exactly as described by the cop, then he was completely justified in using lethal force. However, the police report reads as though it was designed to reach that justification.

It is difficult for me to understand why one officer would go after this supposedly very dangerous criminal in the heart of one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in South Carolina alone. And, why he would be so unprepared to make a clean arrest of this very dangerous fugitive. Makes a person wonder…...

ickthus Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 5:32 pm

yea, yea, cops didn’t beat him. it was the peanutbutter samage he ate. he’s got a food allergy to peanuts. he got stung by a bee. it was Voodoo Midget Aliens from Corporate America that did it. IT WAS G.W Bush who did it!!!!!! get obama to give him some money quick. sheep.

barefootangel Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 5:00 pm

One photo is from March and one from May. How do we know that when the policeman went to arrest him, he still looked like the March photo, maybe he had just been in a fight with someone else. The two photos prove nothing.

round2it Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 3:38 pm

The cop should have pulled out his real gun and shot him, would have saved the tax payers alot of time and money. JMO

cmb1 Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 3:01 pm

If he can get a GOOD lawyer the criminal will win! and we the taxpayer will pay again! Sad but true.

claycitymadness Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 2:18 pm

he fought the law and the law won.

rmseek1234 Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 2:12 pm

ickthus-I hope you were referring to Sexy N comment and NOT rolltider’s. I wish all these bleeding heart criminal lover’s would just tell us WHAT THEY WOULD DO? Easy to be a sideline cop and expert, but when it comes right down to it-they wouldn’t have done any differently, and if they had, we would be playing TAPS and giving a 21 gun salute…

ickthus Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 12:40 pm

Lucky for us your not a cop. the city would be like a war zone and you would be dead for one of these thugs. You don’t have to back off. With that kind of thinking your 6 feet down. You just don’t know it yet.

rolltider Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 12:39 pm

He tries to grab my taser, gun or whatever weapon, i’m beating him too.

SEXY N Says:

Tue, May 19, 2009 at 12:34 pm

That’s is sad, what the guy did was wrong, but my god you don’t beat no one like that. And of course the officer was going to say he feared for his life. I would say the same thing if I beat someone like that. Then someone says he is lucky he wasn’t in foley because the officers there would have killed him. That’s sad a city holds a title know for killing criminals. I don’t care who disagree with this. Everyone is entitle to there own opinion and this is mind. So if anyone has a smart comment you can keep, because I will not be back on this topic.