SLED releases details after 25-year-old fatally shot by Spartanburg County deputies (2024)

SPARTANBURG— The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the June 2 shooting death of a 25-year-old Spartanburg man at the hands of four Spartanburg County sheriff's deputies.

State law doesn't mandate that SLED investigate all officer-involved shootings, but they do in almost every case at the request of the agency involved. In this case the Sheriff's Office requested SLED.

"It’s protocol that we give all the investigation to SLED because we don’t investigate our own officer-involved shooting," Sheriff Chuck Wright said.

The man, Nicholas Daniel Austin Papala, was involved in a single-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 85 near the intersection with Interstate 26, according to SLED. The Sheriff's Office said the wreck happened around 3:40 a.m.

Wright said he wasn't aware of anyone else in the car.

State Highway Patrol and the North Spartanburg County Fire Department responded and found Papala in the woods, but he wouldn't come out.

The Sheriff's Office said Papala asked the firefighters who came to him if they were law enforcement and said he had a weapon. At that point, the firefighters backed off and called for the Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office said four deputies, including a K-9 officer, went into the woods to confront the man, who refused to obey verbal commands from the officers.

Then, the Sheriff's Office said, Papala lifted his shirt and reached for an object in his waistband. All four officers fired, hitting him multiple times and killing him.

No official has publicly said what object Papala might have reached for or if he had a weapon. SLED's release didn't mention Papala reaching for an object, and during a June 3 news conference, Wright declined to elaborate, citing the SLED investigation.

Wright also said he didn't know why Papala went into the woods or confronted deputies, but the Laurens County Sheriff's Office said he had warrants for trafficking marijuana and possession with intent to distribute.

Wright said none of the deputies were injured and that they were all on administrative leave.

"I pray for the deputies that they will be OK after this incident. They didn’t want to do this," Wright said. "We also want to pray for the young man’s family too. I spoke to his mom. Obviously, she’s not doing very well. I don’t expect her to be doing well. But we can cover her in prayer."

This was the state's 19th officer-involved shooting this year and the second from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, according to SLED.

Last year, there were 43 officer-involved shootings in South Carolina, four involving Spartanburg County deputies.