Deputy's Arrest! Who's Wrong? You Decide! Aiken County, SC
An Aiken County Sheriff's Office deputy has been fired and charged with attacking a teenager this weekend and jailing him on trumped-up charges.
Jeffrey S. Nation, 40 is charged with assault and battery and misconduct in office, said Lt. Michael Frank, an Aiken County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.
On Sunday, the deputy arrested Lorenzo Williams Jr., 18, of Richmond Circle in New Ellenton
More.., claiming the 18-year-old tried to head butt him when he stopped him walking in the area of Green and Jackson streets.
Williams never tried to head butt the deputy, Frank said.
The incident was captured on police video and there was no such attempted attack, he added.
Williams was with a few other teens when the deputy told him to pull up his sagging pants. Rather than doing that, Williams pulled his shirt down to cover his exposed underwear, Frank said.
"At that point, Nation stopped the car and got out and asked the man for his ID," he added.
Williams was standing at the hood of the patrol car during the interview on the side of the road when the deputy struck Williams in the throat, Frank said.
It was unprovoked, he added.
Nation then arrested Williams and charged him with assault and disorderly conduct on the trumped-up allegations that the teenager had attempted to attack him. He took the New Ellenton man to the Aiken County detention center where he was detained.
"When I learned of the deputy's behavior, I immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and requested SLED conduct a criminal investigation and take appropriate action," said Sheriff Michael Hunt. "I apologize to the young man, his family and our community because this kind of behavior is unacceptable by any law enforcement officer."
Nation apparently brought a copy of the patrol car video to his supervisors for their review, who then handed the tape up the chain of command.
"They recognized there was a problem and they contacted the uniform patrol captain who agreed and brought it to the chief deputy and the sheriff," Frank said.
The charges against the teen have been dropped.
Nation was fired Tuesday morning.
In 2004, Nation was suspended from the sheriff's office for a use-of-force incident, but at press time the particulars of that incident were not available.
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