Police officer fired for using excessive force, SC department says

An officer was fired for using excessive force during an arrest, the Aiken Department of Public Safety said Monday.

Now Anthony Mason, formerly a public safety officer with the Aiken Department of Public Safety, is being investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and could face criminal charges, according to a news release.

On Jan. 3, the department of public safety said it received a complaint about Mason using excessive force from an incident that happened the same day.

At about noon, Mason responded to a report of a collision at the intersection of Two Notch Road and East Pine Log Road, according to an incident report. That’s near Whiskey Road, not far from downtown Aiken.

A man who was a passenger, but the owner of a Hyundai Tucson involved in the crash told Mason “times were hard” and that he didn’t have insurance on the vehicle, according to the incident report.

Another officer arrived on the scene and said the SUV owner was becoming highly agitated and nervous.

“He kept moving around, approaching Mason’s window asking what was taking so long,” the officer said in the incident report.

Mason ultimately told the SUV owner he was being cited for operating an uninsured vehicle, then said he could smell marijuana coming from the Hyundai and was going to search the vehicle, according to the incident report.

The SUV owner told Mason, “you are not searching the vehicle,” and began walking away from officers, the incident report said.

Mason told the SUV owner to step back over in the grass where they had been talking, but the man continued walking away, according to the incident report.

Mason grabbed the SUV owner’s arm and told him to put his hands behind his back, but the man ran away, across four lanes of traffic, toward a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, the incident report said.

Mason and the other officer followed as the SUV owner ran another 75 feet and surrendered, according to the incident report. The second officer grabbed the SUV owner and assisted him to the ground, telling him to put his hands behind his back, as Mason approached, the incident report said.

The SUV owner continued to resist and Mason hit him on the top of the head, according to the incident report.

Although the SUV owner continued to resist he was eventually restrained and taken back to the original scene, the incident report said.

The SUV owner was arrested on a failure to comply charge and put in the back of Mason’s patrol vehicle, according to the incident report.

While in the patrol vehicle, the SUV owner said he needed medical attention because of dizziness, and EMS responded to the scene. EMS evaluated the SUV owner, saying he was OK and that they “did not observe any areas of concern,” the incident report said.

Mason took the SUV owner to the department of public safety headquarters, about 5 miles away from the scene, according to the incident report. But because the SUV owner was involved in a collision, Mason then took him Aiken Regional Medical Center, another 4-plus miles away.

At the hospital, Mason transferred custody of the SUV owner to another officer, the incident report said.

The SUV owner was ultimately given medical clearance and was taken to the Aiken County Detention Center, according to the incident report. Aiken County court records show his bond was set at $465 and he’s not currently listed on the inmate roster, according to jail records.

Following an internal investigation Mason was fired, according to the department of public safety.

The department of public safety said it turned its information over to SLED, which is now leading the investigation.