11 law enforcement officers on leave after early-morning officer-involved shooting

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Eight North Charleston Police officers and three Charleston County deputies have been placed on administrative leave as an investigation continues into an early-morning officer-involved shooting that left one man dead Wednesday.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the incident, which began at approximately 11:15 p.m. when police responded to the Marathon gas station on Dorchester Road to a report of multiple gunshots fired, North Charleston Police spokesman Harve Jacobs said. An officer who was patrolling the Dorchester Terrace area heard the shots as well and arrived at the station to find a man armed with a handgun about 50 yards from the business.

“Several officers arrived on scene and an extensive dialogue began with the subject in an effort to get him to drop his weapon,” a statement from police reads. “The subject then turned towards the officers and brandished his gun in their direction several times before firing at them. The officers returned fire and immediately began rendering aid to the subject.”

The man, identified by the Charleston County Coroner’s Office as 33-year-old Winston Dunham, died from multiple gunshot wounds around 12:12 a.m.

An incident report states officers saw Dunham firing a handgun.

“While officers were attempting to de-escalate the situation, Dunham presented a firearm and shot a round at officers,” the incident report states. “Officers returned fire and Dunham suffered fatal injury.”

North Charleston Police requested that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigate the shooting, which is normal protocol, Jacobs said.

SLED spokesperson Renée Wunderlich said deputies from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office were also involved in the shooting. No police officers or sheriff’s deputies were injured in the shooting, she said.

Law enforcement agencies typically place officers involved in a shooting on leave while the incident is investigated.

North Charleston Police on Wednesday afternoon released the names of the eight officers who are on leave and the dates on which they joined the agency:

Sgt. Kevin Whitfield – 4/1/2013
Cpl. Kyle Decedue – 9/15/2014
Pfc. Christopher Schuessler – 3/13/2017
Pfc. Juan Estrada – 8/14/2017
Pfc. Justin Bonnell – 8/12/2019
Ptl. Justin Whittaker – 3/23/2020
Ptl. Jonathan Simmons – 8/8/2022
Ptl. Christopher Hampton – 8/22/2022

Charleston County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Amber Allen released the names of the three Charleston County deputies who have also been placed on paid leave with that agency:

Sgt. Austin Rissanen (10 years with agency)
Deputy Joseph Stokes (7 years with agency)
Deputy Stuart Prettel (2 years with agency)

When SLED completes its investigation, which will include conducting interviews with witnesses and collecting evidence, it will produce a report that will be provided to prosecutors.

At least two of the North Charleston Police officers were previously involved in a deadly shooting incident. Estrada and Whittaker were cleared of wrongdoing by Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson in a Jan. 16, 2022, officer-involved shooting that ended in the death of 35-year-old Junnie Williams. Wilson determined that the officers should not be charged in that case after reviewing the final report from SLED on the shooting.

The incident is the 41st officer-involved shooting in South Carolina this year, the first of the year involving the North Charleston Police Department and the second involving the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Wunderlich said.

In 2022, there were 32 officer-involved shootings across the state. None of those involved North Charleston Police and only one involved the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, she said.