Disciplinary action taken against officers though arrests deemed legal
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A Beaufort Police review of a Thanksgiving weekend arrest of two women that resulted in a video circulating on social media which sparked questions from members of the community concluded that the arrests were lawful, though the officers’ conduct did not adhere to the professional standards upheld by the Department, and disciplinary measures were taken.
Per the statement released Wednesday, Dec. 11, by the Beaufort Police Department, just before 11 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28, officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with a headlight that was “non-functioning” and was observed to be swerving.
During the traffic stop, the driver was given a standard field sobriety test and was then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), driving while suspended and resisting arrest.
While the driver was being administered the test, the passenger remained in the vehicle but allegedly became belligerent and attempted to interfere with the arrest.
The passenger was tased when officers tried to detain him and he allegedly actively resisted. He was arrested for public disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
According to the statement, the vehicle’s owner later arrived on the scene and was told to contact the tow truck driver. The vehicle owner is the woman who is shown in the video being pulled from the vehicle.
After contacting the tow truck driver, she allegedly assaulted him and caused him injuries, after which she returned to her vehicle and allegedly refused multiple commands to exit the vehicle.
“Officers were forced to remove her from the vehicle, and she was arrested for assault and battery in the third degree,” the release said.
The incident was filmed from the moment that the woman was pulled from the front seat of the car by the passenger of the car, who was also arrested for interference.
After the driver was taken from the vehicle and was in the process of being arrested, the passenger can be seen exiting the vehicle and moving around to film the arrest.
A police officer tells her aggressively to back up while a separate police officer tells her to stay out of the crime scene.
She asks for his badge number, and he flashes it at her, before turning back around and placing the passenger under arrest.
In the release, the department stated that they reviewed all body-worn and in-car camera footage, reviewed all supplemental reports and conducted multi-tiered evaluations by supervisory personnel.
“A thorough review of this incident confirmed that all charges and elements of the crimes were present, and the crimes were lawful. This review further resulted in training, retraining and disciplinary measures,” the release said.
When asked for further clarification about what that meant, Beaufort Police Department Spokesperson Lindsey Edwards said that while the arrests were made lawfully, upon review of the incident it was determined that the officers’ conduct did not adhere to the professional standards upheld by the Beaufort Police Department.
She also said that department training and retraining included leadership, de-escalation and response to resistance.
She also said that there was unpaid suspension time included in the disciplinary measures as well, but did not specify as to which officers received the suspension, how many or for how long.
The Island News has submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the incident reports as well as the body and dash cam video related to these arrests.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
