Videos show SC troopers hitting, kicking suspects

BY MEG KINNARD (Hilton Head Island Packet) - A South Carolina state trooper is seen kicking a suspect in the head multiple times after a high speed interstate chase in the latest in a string of alarming Highway Patrol videos.

In two other videos released Monday, a trooper is seen punching a suspect several times in the face after a pursuit and a different officer appears to hit a suspect with the barrel of a shotgun during a traffic stop.

The Department of Public Safety released the videos following media requests. They are the latest to surface showing troopers acting aggressively toward suspects.

Highway Patrol Col. Russell Roark and his boss, Public Safety Director James Schweitzer, resigned earlier this year after a video surfaced showing a trooper use a racial epithet while chasing a black suspect. Two other videos released in the weeks that followed show troopers using their cars to ram fleeing suspects.

The number of complaints lodged against South Carolina troopers increased dramatically from 2005 to 2006 - the year all three of the newest videos were recorded - as the number of troopers increased only slightly, according to an Associated Press review of disciplinary records. State budget cuts reduced the force in 2005 to 785 and about 100 officers were added a year later. The force currently has about 950 officers.

The videos have led state and federal authorities to begin investigating possible civil rights violations within the Highway Patrol. While Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden has said the agency welcomes the investigations, he also has said the actions captured on video aren't indicative of the behavior of most troopers.

"On a daily basis, the men and women of the Patrol continue to do their job and they continue to do it demonstrating unmatched professionalism," Gaulden said. "The fact that they do so in light of what seems to be a constant media harangue about the actions of a few vividly demonstrates the overarching theme of public service."

In one video released Monday, Lance Cpl. John B. Sawyer can be seen kicking Sergio Caridi in the head about six times in May 2006.

Caridi led troopers and sheriff's deputies on a 30-mile chase on Interstate 95 in a dump truck. Officers shot out several of the truck's tires and Caridi got out of the vehicle with his hands up and got on the ground before Sawyer kicks him in the head.

Caridi appears to try to get up off the ground, and Sawyer kicks him again. Another officer uses a Taser on Caridi, who was subsequently handcuffed and taken to the Florence County jail, according to disciplinary records.

"The driver got out of his vehicle on his hands and knees but would not listen to commands because he kept getting up," Sawyer wrote in a report about the incident. "I attempted to keep him on the ground by hitting his arms with my leg but he continued."

The now-33-year-old Sawyer, a six-year veteran of the Highway Patrol, was placed on administrative leave after the incident, officials said. He resigned several months later and now works with the Marion County Sheriff's Department, according to documents.

Another video released Monday appears to show a trooper hitting a suspect with the barrel of a shotgun during a November 2006 traffic stop. In that incident, Lance Cpl. Michael Tomson had suspect Demetrius Jones pinned on the ground when he appears to hit him with the gun just off the screen. Jones required several stitches, and Tomson said his shotgun slipped, according to disciplinary reports.

Tomson was demoted one rank and his pay was cut 10 percent, Gaulden said.

In the third video, recorded in January 2006, Lance Cpl. E.J. Burton is seen punching a suspect several times in the face after a pursuit and stop. "Because of our position the only thing I could do was use my hands to gain compliance," Burton wrote in a report about the incident involving Aaron Goodman.

Burton was ordered to undergo counseling, Gaulden said.

Category:

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• south_carolina
• troopers
• investigation
• excessive_force
• highway_patrol
• abuse

[bedlaminbelgiumroxzz]

That guy deserved to get kicked in the head. Great job by the state troopers. Any idiot that runs from the cops, endangers other on the road deserves to get their ass kicked. They should have kicked his ass some more. He'll think twice about running from the cops again.

[bootcampsam]

The Bottom Line: "If you run from the Law then prepare for the ass whooping that comes with it."

[TheZincZipper]

@AudieHo We have standards to go by and yes a lot of times people have no idea how close we ourselves have come to getting seriously hurt but we still have to act in a respectable manner.

[707BLACKDEVIL707]

PS piece of shit cops...

[707BLACKDEVIL707]

My uncle has fought back on tape and everything nothing happened to him in court besides the cops getting there ass whooped he didn't even go to jail just a ticket for speeding and the cops tried to act hard and trew him on the ground hella hard he had markings of the cop hitting him for no reason cuz he pulled over right away so they had it comming lol

[AudieHO]

Here's an idea: How about instead of sitting back and second guessing the officers, go to school to become a police officer so you can show us how it should be done? Oh wait, that would mean that your arrogant, self-entitled ass would have to actually get out of bed and go to work in the morning rather than just collect your welfare check on the first of the month.

[SoldierMed68W]

Cops have to maintain total control over the situation at all times, you run, they assume the worst possible scenario. If they did anything else that 1:1,000,000 chance would bite them in the ass, these guys are just making sure that they can all go home to their families at the end of the day

[911wuzjews]

@bashabe1 NO FUCK WAD. What we dislike is commie pieces of shit who think their tin badge gives them the right to beat the shit out of sovereign people. You forget we are supposed to be free, and also INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Police are NOT judge, jury, and executioner, but with this behavior, more and more sovereign people are being killed by these shit bags. If you like being such a commie fuck, get the fuck out of America or just hang yourself. SubvertedNation/net

[911wuzjews]

@bedlaminbelgiumroxzz I'm glad commies like you think it's ok for police to beat the shit out of people, because hopefully one day they'll have your ass on the ground and be kicking the dog shit out of you. While you lay in the hospital getting your face reconstructed, you can suck it the fuck up, because you think it's OK to do. You are a piece of shit, and nowhere near what a true American is. You should really just go off yourself shit stain. SubvertedNation/net

[maverick10241]

@bedlaminbelgiumroxzz and maybe one day they will be kicking your ass in the head for doing less.anytime a cop gets by with abuse he only gets worse if not stopped.the video of the trooper using the N word should have gotten the cop fired but it didn't.give a bully a inch and he will take a ft.

[lovegun001]

That last one was pretty bad. Trooper should defiantly be reprimanded if not removed. It's clear that he let his emotions get the best of him. I don't doubt that he is a frequent abuser of his authority. The first two, while aggressive, seem legit.

[lightsoutnow30]

that guy on the truck could have easily killed someone. Give me a brake.