GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - A sheriff’s deputy in South Carolina whose body camera showed him closing a car door on the head of a handcuffed suspect is facing an internal affairs investigation.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has an “active” probe of the April 2019 incident involving Sgt. Jacob Walters, spokesman Lt. Ryan Flood said Friday in an email, confirming a report in The Greenville News.
He said the agency has also requested an investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division. SLED has an “open investigation into this matter,” spokesman Tommy Crosby said in an email.
The probes stem from the arrest of Stephon Hopkins, 31, on April 22, 2019. In the video, Hopkins resists attempts by Walters to get him out of the back of a sheriff’s patrol car at the Greenville County Detention Center. Walters drags him out and then closes the door on his head when he’s on the ground.
Sheriff’s officials have said an initial review determined the incident was not intentional and Walters did not use excessive force.
Hopkins has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Walters and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville News reported. Hopkins is Black; Walters is white.
Flood declined to comment on the suit.
Walters has been placed on administrative duty until the internal affairs probe is completed, according to the Greenville News.
Hopkins pleaded guilty to resisting arrest in October 2019 and was sentenced to time he had already served in jail, the Greenville News said.
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