hello i'm sergeant elizabeth wolfson of the charleston police department's public information office the following critical incident briefing including audio video and images is intended to provide details of an incident that resulted in an officer-involved shooting this briefing has been completed so that you may have a better understanding of the circumstances that led to this use of force that occurred on march 10 2021 at approximately 11am at the colonial grand apartment complex located at 3590 mariata avenue within the city of charleston in an effort to provide disclosure and to allow residents to understand what happened during this incident this video will provide a synopsis of 911 calls police radio broadcasts video captured by citizens video from body worn cameras as well as additional information relevant to the event this video may contain strong language as well as graphic images which may be disturbing to some people viewer discretion is advised on march 10 2021 at approximately 11 am charleston county consolidated dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from a citizen regarding a subject then assault style rifle causing a disturbance within the apartment complex located at 3590 mariatar avenue the 911 caller originally advised dispatch that her male neighbor was harassing her and her roommate by standing outside their apartment banging on their apartment door and attempting to open it the caller then advised that the neighbor had returned to the area outside their door and was now waving a really big gun which looked like an ak-47 and that the rifle was almost as big as him the caller advised that she was really scared the caller also said that the neighbor had prior issues with police and attempted to talk to her earlier over their balcony the caller once again advised that she and her roommate were extremely scared the caller continued telling dispatch that the neighbor had repeatedly and every night attempted to contact her over the past week she was able to provide dispatch with both physical and clothing description of her neighbor the caller also told dispatch that the neighbor had threatened her and said he was going to come into her apartment at one point the neighbor while still holding the rifle stated to the caller that he was not going to shoot but for her to come out the caller stated that she had video of her neighbor that he was standing right next to their door and that he was still armed the neighbor and suspect involved in this incident was identified as mr george grayson sayner 25 years of age residing at 3590 mariader avenue the following is a recording of pertinent portions of that 9-1-1 call which has been edited for brevity number one what is the address of the emergency uh it's 3590 mary aider avenue apartment what is the name of the apartment um it is called colonial grant or colonial grand at cypress cove okay and tell me exactly what happened um so i actually just tried uh talking to a dispatcher because my neighbor was just standing outside harassing us um he was just knocking on our door trying to open the doors so nothing big at first but now he's standing outside of his apartment he's actually our neighbor across from us and he's waving a really big gun it looks like an ak-47 of some sort and i do not feel safe my girlfriend's on the phone with our apartment complex right now because he's had issues with the cops before but now he's waving a gun outside of our door and i'm very scared and then what type of and what type of gun is it exactly what kind of gun does it look like she said it looks like an ak-47 like some kind of machine gun it's really big the whole gun is probably almost as tall as he is and every night every single night he knocks on our door a couple times and we just ignore it and he goes away usually but this time he's not gone away he thinks he just keeps making threats he keeps saying that he's gonna come in the apartment the following is camera footage that captured the suspect with a rifle in the breezeway area of the apartment building and near the 911 callers apartment door [Music] bro let me see well i'm gonna run your [ __ ] you better stay in your apartment charleston county consolidated dispatch received an additional 911 call from apartment complex management advising police of the situation and their concern for apartment residents due to the dangerous nature of the call several cpd patrol officers were immediately dispatched to the victim's location the following is dispatch audio from police radio that has been edited for brevity 1103 can you confirm it can you confirm if this is an act of disturbance with weapons they're advising there's a person waving a firearm that resides in an apartment there's two callers calling about it four or three cops four feet [Music] cbd patrol officers arrived on scene within two minutes of being dispatched and began to determine the location of the caller's apartment as well as the location of the rifle-wielding suspect officers on scene were advised by other responding officers that police had prior contact with the suspect for disruptive behavior police including plainclothes and uniform patrol officers began to establish a perimeter around the suspect's apartment building approximately five minutes after their arrival the suspect was observed on the balcony of his apartment officers then coordinated efforts to establish a perimeter of observation around the location of the suspect and his apartment building at one point officers heard a gunshot coming from the area of the suspect's apartment the following is body-worn camera footage from a cbd officer at the scene capturing the sound of the gunshot being fired by the suspect it is unknown what direction the suspect was firing due to the evolving situation and the overwhelming danger to apartment residents police commanders on scene requested that swat and crisis negotiators respond to the location in an attempt to peacefully resolve the situation swat officers were able to establish a secure perimeter around the suspect's apartment building due to the geographical nature of the apartment complex officers were deployed into a wooded area to both observe and contain the suspect approximately 50 minutes after the initial request for swat officers to respond to the scene a swat officer on a perimeter marksman position observed the suspect step out onto his rear balcony and fire his rifle toward the officer the officer heard the gunshot as well as the bullet strike near his position the officer returned fire striking the suspect and causing him to collapse cpd swat officers assigned as marksmen do not wear body-worn cameras due to their equipment position and function the following is body-worn camera footage from a patrol officer on scene that captured the sound of the gunshot fired by the suspect as well as a return fire by the cpd swat officer during this dynamic incident viewers may be able to distinguish the sound difference between the gunshot fired by the suspect and that of the return fire by the officer [Applause] okay the suspect is down took the shot we did fire the following is additional body-worn camera footage from a swat officer near the marksman who fired his weapon that also captures the sound of the suspect firing at swat officers as well as the return fire the charleston police department swat officer involved in this use of force incident has been identified as senior police officer christopher malinowski during this incident officer malinowski fired his swat assigned rifle twice striking mr saner once the following is audio captured from police radio from officer malinowski announcing that he had fired his police weapon here one shot away suspecting out the balcony window shut off around that way he's down all right two cops we're loading up in the sprinter right now the advice he's wearing all black he's laying down on the ground right now no movement the entire incident from the arrival of initial patrol officers at the scene until mr saner was shot and collapsed lasted approximately one hour and eight minutes cpd swat officers immediately approached mr sanders apartment to take him into custody and render medical aid swat officers had to forcibly open the front door of the apartment to gain entry initially mr sander was responsive however he was non-compliant with verbal commands given by squad operators a police k9 and swat team entered the apartment to safely take mr sander into custody the following is video from body worn camera of officers entering the apartment and rendering aid to mr saner utilizing their police supplied trauma first aid kits once again word of caution images and information you are about to see may be disturbing this video may contain strong language as well as graphic images which may be disturbing to some people viewer discretion is advised [Music] put your hands out to your side put your hands out to your side put your other hand out to your side hey buddy where you hurt your hand are you hurt anywhere else just your hand yeah send them up hey let's get you on your side so you can breathe a little bit easier okay we're gonna help you okay we're here to help you turn over to your side so you can breathe a little bit easier okay hey prop your leg back grab his leg and put in like a recovery position just so you can breathe a little bit easier okay hey can you grab me a couple pillows for his head swat officers immediately requested paramedics who were already staged close to the location to the scene for emergency medical treatment mr sander was subsequently transported by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries the following is a photo of the weapon carried by mr saner it was discovered dropped on the apartment balcony after he fell to the ground the weapon is identified as an hk 416d 22 caliber lr hv the weapon was found to have one round loaded in the firing chamber with 19 additional rounds in the attached magazine two fire shell casings were located on the floor of the balcony mr saner was ultimately charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime mr saner is presumed in incent of all charges and lasts and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt the charleston police department conducts thorough use of force investigations regarding every officer involved shooting incident this incident was the subject of two separate and distinct investigations the south carolina law enforcement division conducted an independent criminal investigation regarding the officer's actions and it was subsequently reviewed by the ninth circuit solicitor's office an internal administrative investigation by the charleston police department's office of internal affairs was conducted to determine if all cpd policies and procedures were followed by the officer on june 15 2021 the charleston police department received formal notification from the ninth circuit solicitor's office that no criminal charges would be filed against the involved cbd officer the letter indicated that quote the relevant evidence does not support proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the involved officer committed any crimes the investigating agents agree with my decision based on the available evidence it is apparent that spo malinowski reasonably believed he and others were in imminent and actual danger of great bodily injury or death when the suspect fired at him it is readily apparent that spo malinowski's use of force was reasonable in light of the actual and imminent danger of great bodily harm or death that he and other officers were placed in by the actions of george seiner end quote additionally the charleston police department determined through its own internal administrative investigation that all pertinent and applicable general orders as well as department policies and procedures were followed by the involved officer this video is intended to inform and educate the public about a critical incident in our community you can learn more about the charleston police department and its policies and commitment to transparency and building trust within our community by visiting our website at charleston-sc.gov police you