Most of the 36 complaints filed against Aiken Public Safety officers since April 2016 were dismissed. A quick glance of the reports helps explain why.
In many cases, the person filing a complaint backpedaled when shown body cam footage or confronted with other convincing evidence exonerating the officer. Other times, tensions naturally simmered in the days following a heated complaint.
That's not to say all complaints are unfounded. Five were classified as "sustained," which means there was "evidence sufficient to prove the allegation," according to official Aiken police complaint forms.
In one case, an officer was found to be drinking in the City limits, a violation of Aiken Department of Public Safety policy. Another officer resigned shortly after a violation of the department's social media policies.
One case yielded evidence of an officer engaged in sexual activity with a woman with an active warrant, records show.
But most of the reports reviewed by the Aiken Standard found that officers were either exonerated or the complaint was deemed unfounded.
"Our ultimate job is to protect everybody, anybody we come into contact with," said Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco. "However, we can't do it ourselves. I'm thankful to anyone who comes in with an incident."
Policing the police
As technology has improved, so has the ability to record police activity. Police chases, excessive force and in some cases, officer-involved shootings, are being caught on camera with increasing frequency.
Aiken is no different.
An October 2014 police stop partially caught on camera is now the focus of an ongoing federal lawsuit against the City of Aiken, the Aiken Department of Public Safety, Chief Barranco and four current and former officers. Aiken County residents Elijah Pontoon and Lakeya Hicks filed the suit.
According to the litigation, Pontoon said he was subjected to an illegal roadside cavity search in broad daylight. Hicks claimed in court papers that her chest was exposed while police searched her.
Barranco said he couldn't discuss the Pontoon suit since it is a pending legal matter, though in court filings the City has denied the search occurred.
The chief did say the litigation impacted police morale to a degree, but noted it hasn't impeded overall law enforcement operations.
"Of course it affected this department, but the men and women here are committed to protecting this community," Barranco said. "It is an honor to serve. One incident can't define you unless you let it."
Since the Pontoon suit became publicized in April 2016, there have been and continue to be changes in department policy.
Officers have received diversity training. The City has started a complaint hotline. And police are equipped with personal body cams, which Barranco said greatly enhances law enforcement and likely reduces complaints.
"The men and women love wearing them. They can't go out without them," Barranco said. "It protects them and it protects the complainant."
Public Safety recently began working with the freshly formed Citizens Review Board, whose job is to review any appeals of police complaints.
The review board held its first meeting in April.
"Once a complaint is filed, the chief is to notify me and (co-chairman) Paul Bush of the complaint profile," Fr. Grant Wiseman, chairman of the review board, said during the inaugural meeting. "Then what happens is Public Safety does their own investigation to their own policies and procedures."
The Public Safety review process can take up to 45 days, though Barranco said most reviews don't take that long.
At its April meeting, the review board voted to uphold three exonerations and deferred action on a fourth complaint for further review. Five more will be reviewed at the board's May meeting, which as of press time hadn't been scheduled.
"There are things that we’re learning,” Wiseman said. “We have a wide spectrum of people that bring a wide spectrum of understanding.”
Aiken complaint forms
Public Safety's commendation/complaint forms have been in use since 1998, though it wasn't until the Pontoon case that they became more widely publicized.
In addition to their lawsuit, Pontoon and Hicks filed a complaint with Public Safety alleging many of the same points contained in the litigation. The Citizens Review Board was not in existence when the original suit was filed.
Barranco noted the forms are not only for complaints, but also commendations or compliments. The chief said when a complaint is filed, he receives a copy and a supervisor is assigned to investigate. Where it goes from there depends on the severity.
If evidence of criminal activity exists, typically Public Safety would reach out to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, or SLED, which would conduct an independent investigation. None of the 36 complaints filed since April 2016 have been referred to SLED, Barranco said.
Most are investigated internally and referred to the Citizens Review Board if the citizen filing the complaint appeals. There are four outcomes to a report – sustained, not sustained, exonerated and unfounded.
Not sustained means there's insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation. Exonerated means the incident occurred, but was lawful, while unfounded means the allegation is "false or not factual or the employee was not involved."
What the reports found
None of the 36 reports were classified as "not sustained." The vast majority of incidents were marked "exonerated."
Of the five reports that were sustained, two were for comparatively minor infractions.
In one instance, an officer was reprimanded for pointing at an agitated woman at an area McDonald's, telling her she would go to jail if she returned to the restaurant.
A Public Safety memo said the officer would receive remedial training on community relations training and have a counseling memo placed in his file.
Another report checked "sustained" concerned a woman upset that a trespassing complaint she filed wasn't handled properly.
The investigator noted in the report that when the complaint was filed, there was a high call volume. But the investigator also noted that the officer fielding the complaint was given additional training and counseled on how to better serve the community.
A third report deemed sustained involved a Facebook post that violated the department's social media policies. The officer resigned during the course of the investigation, the report said.
The most serious incident to be sustained was detailed in a complaint filed Sept. 26, 2016, accusing an officer of engaging in sex acts with a woman with an active arrest warrant.
According to the complaint, the officer knew about the warrant, but never arrested her. He promised the woman her charges would be dropped in exchange for providing information aiding in drug investigations.
The report further states the officer sent explicit Facebook messages to the woman. Investigators determined many of the messages were sent while the officer was on duty, the report said.
According to police records, the officer admitted to sending explicit messages, but denied to engaging in sex acts. The woman said in the report that she and the officer engaged in a sex act behind a local grocery store.
Both the officer and woman took polygraph exams, according to the report.
"PSO (name redacted) was offered and agreed to take two polygraphs. The polygraphs were given by Tommy Platt (ACSO) and he stated in his report that PSO (name redacted) showed deception," the report said. "(The woman) also agreed to take a polygraph ... she showed no deception."
The officer also refused to turn over his phone during the internal investigation, the report continues.
It's not clear from the report what the final disposition was. Barranco declined to discuss the officer's employment status, saying it's a personnel matter.
Looking to the future
Such incidents are rare in the complaint forms reviewed by the Aiken Standard.
The only other complaint of consequence involved an officer consuming alcohol at the bar of a local restaurant. Barranco said it's a violation of department policy to consume alcohol at businesses in the City limits, even when they're off duty.
Barranco said while the department doesn't want to see any complaints, he said the number of sustained cases is low.
"Out of 40,000 calls for service, you're looking at less than 40 complaints in a year's time," the chief said. "I think any athlete or numbers person would be ecstatic."
In the proposed budget for 2017-2018, Aiken City Council is proposing several funding initiatives aimed at further improving Public Safety operations.
The budget draft includes funding to establish a salary schedule and a 1.5 percent cost of living increase for all City employees. The City is also looking to hire two permanent and two temporary officers to plug staffing shortages.
There are additional plans to create a high-tech database to help officers better understand crime trends in the City limits.
First reading of the budget is scheduled for May 17.
