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Friday, July 18, 2008
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COLUMBIA — A former state trooper could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for repeatedly kicking a New York man in the head after the man led troopers on a high-speed chase in his dump truck, according to a federal indictment handed down Thursday.Then-Lance Cpl. John B. Sawyer unnecessarily struck and kicked Sergio Caridi in the head several times after Caridi was hit with a stun gun and as he was being restrained by officers in a May 2006 incident on Interstate 95 in Sumter County.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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COLUMBIA — A state trooper who hit a fleeing suspect with his car has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a civil rights violation charge in what may be the first of several cases against highway patrolmen. Trooper Steve C. Garren, 39, of Greenwood, could face up to a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison for striking a man with his cruiser and later telling other officers, "I nailed the f--- out of him. ... I was trying to hit him."
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Thursday, May 1, 2008
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It's as good as a smoking gun to some people: The video shows a state trooper hitting a fleeing suspect with his cruiser, then records him telling other officers that "I was trying to hit him."
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41 comment(s) / read/add comments |
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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COLUMBIA — The files paint a portrait of an agency with troubles: state troopers abusing suspects, stealing equipment, taking money from Hispanic motorists and sabotaging in-car video cameras to hide their actions. These internal affairs reports, requested by the state Senate and obtained by The Post and Courier through the Freedom of Information Act, will be evidence and ammunition in the confirmation hearings for the new director of the Department of Public Safety. ...
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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COLUMBIA — Six weeks after problems within the Highway Patrol began to surface, names of potential replacements for the head of the Department of Public Safety are being whispered in legislative circles. Gov. Mark Sanford's office is mum on the process but said the state should expect him to recommend a replacement to lead the Highway Patrol's parent agency "sooner rather than later." ...
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Friday, April 4, 2008
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COLUMBIA — Finding and protecting troopers courageous enough to speak up is the key to resolving problems within the state Highway Patrol because troubles have festered for years under the threat of demotions, a glass ceiling or transfers to South Carolina back roads, a state senator said Thursday.
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Thursday, April 3, 2008
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COLUMBIA — In an internal memo dated Wednesday, state Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell directs Senate staff on an investigation into the South Carolina Highway Patrol. The memo obtained by The Post and Courier, comes on the heels of shake-ups in the patrol and its parent agency, the Department of Public Safety. Senators will meet today to discuss for the first time evidence of troopers mistreating motorists.
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7 comment(s) / read/add comments |
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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COLUMBIA — South Carolina troopers spend less time in formal training than their counterparts in neighboring states, a problem that has some questioning if it contributed to the misbehavior caught on videotapes that surfaced in the last month. A trooper here spends 4 1/2 months in ba...
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Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Post and Courier took a look at thousands of traffic tickets and arrests by troopers during the past five years and created an interactive graphic showing trends in ticketing, arrests, arrest rates and racial leanings.
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Friday, March 21, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
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The videos suggest that racial discrimination permeates the ranks of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, but the overall numbers don't show it.
A Post and Courier review of all traffic tickets written by state troopers over the past five years shows that whites are ticketed twice as often as blacks, corresponding roughly to the racial makeup of the state. ...
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126 comment(s) / read/add comments |
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, is investigating behavior within the South Carolina Highway Patrol after The Post and Courier made public two video tapes capturing troopers using their cruisers to hit fleeing suspects on two occasions.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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The Highway Patrol car jumps the curb, speeds between two apartment buildings, and spins past a playground as parents pull their kids out of the way.
And then, the video catches sight of the fleeing suspect — just before the cruiser hits him. In another video, a state trooper's patrol car rams a man running across a narrow side street, his feet flying into the air just before he disappears into a ditch. ...
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140 comment(s) / read/add comments |
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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COLUMBIA — Angela Scott said the state trooper left her scared and alone on the side of a dark country road. She said she didn't know why the patrolman had handcuffed her to his cruiser, why he had her car towed or why he left, refusing to give her a ride home.
And when she called 911, she said two other local police departments refused to help her. ...
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71 comment(s) / read/add comments |
Friday, March 7, 2008
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COLUMBIA — It happens without warning: The blue lights appear on a dark stretch of interstate and Sen. Robert Ford pulls over.
The state trooper walks up to his window, asks him if he knows he was speeding, and then whispers: Will you meet me at the next rest stop, sir?
This is how the Charleston Democrat has learned about the troubles behind the scenes at the South Carolina Highway Patrol. ...
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50 comment(s) / read/add comments |
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