Sean Groubert, former South Carolina state trooper, will serve five years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting and injuring unarmed black motorist Levar Jones during a 2014 traffic stop.
Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning handed down a 12-year sentence Tuesday but suspended it to five years with credit for 17 months served, Reuters reported.
Groubert will remain on probation for three years following his prison term, The State reported. He would only have to serve the full 12-year sentence should he violate that probation.
The incident arose when Jones was pulled over at a gas station in Columbia, South Carolina, for not wearing a seatbelt.
Dashcam footage of the encounter shows Jones, who had stepped out of his vehicle, reach into the car upon being asked to produce his license. At that point, Groubert yells at him and fires his gun four times at Jones, who raises his hands while being shot.
Shortly after the shooting, Groubert was dismissed from the state Highway Patrol.
Last year, Reuters reported the 34-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of "assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature."
During his plea, Groubert’s lawyers stated that his reaction to open fire on Jones stemmed from Post-Traumatic Stress related to another shootout that occurred in 2012, The State noted.
During a court appearance, Groubert apologized to Jones, WYFF reported.
"Mr. Jones, I made the world's biggest mistake the day I stopped you, and I owe you the world's biggest apology," he said.
"I've searched in vain for three years to find the words to express to you how sorry I am but they don't exist... I screwed up."