Hunter files lawsuit against SCDNR for wrongful arrest claim
BY Herschel Smith
1 month, 2 weeks ago
This is really a bad look for the South Carolina DNR. I would think they would want to back out of this as quickly as possible.
First, the point of the law is not to shoot deer while spotlighting.
Second, for all the officers knew, Shane Huffman was attempting to figure out if that game standing in the field was a Coyote or Feral Hog, both of which are legal to shoot any time of the day with either thermal scopes or NV. What Shane intended by backing his truck up goes to state of mind, and it is impossible for the officers to prove that.
Third, if these officers have time to put human bait in fields and sit in cars waiting for people to stop and look at the bait, they have way to much time on their hands. I have often stopped when I saw a deer, or what I thought was a deer, in order to (a) keep from running over a deer (if it’s a doe there’s likely more around), and (b) to gauge the size and quality of the deer (who knows, maybe it’s somewhere I would want to hunt in the future).
As to (a) above, I have a guard on the front of my truck. I know a guy to hit a deer and totaled his vehicle, and another who did $26,000 worth of damage to his vehicle.
Fourth, officer Thomas should be fired for being corrupt, and officer Tatum should be fired for being so stupid.
Fifth, don’t ever talk to the police. Ever. Under any circumstances. The words are: “I invoke my fifth amendment rights and will not speak to law enforcement except in the presence of my attorney.”
Sixth, officer cameras should not have mute features.
Finally, I suspect that most state DNRs could get by with only 10% of the officers they currently have in their employ.
On January 19, 2026 at 11:17 am, Don W Curton said:
Back in my youth, it used to be a regular thing to drive around about an hour after the sun set and spotlight fields just to see how many deer were out and about. Being city kids spending our summer on the farm, this was all just in fun. We were 13-15 years old, driving a truck around the farm roads by ourselves, and maybe drinking a few beers we snuck out of the house. All in good fun.
On January 22, 2026 at 2:04 pm, xtphreak said:
Thoughts:
Shane’s issues stem from having a LOADED rifle in his truck, I don’t remember if if was cased or not.
Before Constitutional Carry, generally game laws prohibited carrying a loaded rifle, specifically to prevent roadside opportunities and/or spotlighting.
Not sure how the Constitutional Carry changed that, most of what I’ve read deals with handguns.
He made many mistakes, talking freely to the ‘possum police is huge.
The DA is looking for political hay to be made through publicity.
Being a Coyote & Hog hunter, he needs to be aware of current laws.
The trout troopers need to be better trained on the laws / Constitution (like almost all police).
Muting their body cams almost negates the reason for having them
Seizures should not go straight to the dept doing the seizure.
The law is a minefield of traps for the unwary who don’t take time to research.
Shane will loose his firearms rights if convicted.
Think how big an impact that’ll have on his life, as he’s obviously an outdoorsman.
Sad story.
Have a Good Day
On January 23, 2026 at 8:00 am, Paul B said:
Does not give any DNR group a good look. Lots of options for a defense in that bunch of trumped charges.
We need to push back against a militarized police force nation wide.
DO NOT TRUST ANY GOVERNMENT STOOGE.
On January 25, 2026 at 6:30 pm, Big Country said:
Made the Civil Rights Lawyer vid-blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhnlrM8BWow