A police car dashboard camera has captured a video of a South Carolina state trooper shooting an unarmed black man after stopping him for not wearing a seatbelt.

In the footage recorded on 4 September, trooper Sean Groubert, 31, is shown asking Levar Jones for some identification, but when Jones leant back into his car to pick up his drivers license, the officer started shouting “Get outta the car” and opened fire. After the first shot was fired, Jones quickly stepped back from his car with his hands in the air, but Groubert fired another three rounds.

Towards the end of the video, Jones could be heard crying out in pain and asking the officer “Why did you shoot me?” to which Groubert replied:

“Well you dove head first back into your car”

Jones is recovering after being shot in the hip, and released a statement, saying that he hopes his shooting will shed light on the problem of how officers treat suspects. He said:

“I thank God every day that I am here with a story to tell and hope my situation can make a change”

Groubert was fired over the incident last week and has now been charged with assault, and could face up to 20 years in prison.

Following the recent shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August, which resulted in days of rioting, authorities are keen to avoid similar trouble in the town of Columbia, where this incident occurred.