Former deputy Nation sues for damages

Former Aiken County Sheriff's deputy Jeff Nation, who on Aug. 11 was cleared of assault and battery charges in connection with a September 2008 arrest in which he struck a teenager in New Ellenton, filed a civil lawsuit against members of the Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division this week.

Specifically citing Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt, Chief Deputy Dwayne Courtney, Captain John Fogle, Lieutenant Jonathan Clough and SLED agent Michael Perry as the parties who "conspired" to deprive him of his Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights, Nation seeks damages in an unspecified amount.

The police video shows that Nation called to then 18-year-old Lorenzo Williams from his patrol car, telling him to pull his pants up, to which Williams responded by pulling down his shirt to cover his underwear. After getting out of his patrol car, Nation ordered Williams to put his hands on the hood of the car and to look him in the eye. When he did so, the deputy hit Williams in the throat and arrested him. Nation claimed that he acted in self-defense.

The arrest, which was captured on video on Nation's vehicle camera, and the publicity that followed caused Nation "intense distress, public humiliation and embarrassment, severe loss of income and earning capacity and other damages past, present and future," according to the court filing.

Among the wrongdoing that Nation accuses the Sheriff's Office and SLED of is releasing private information ¬­- including his home address and social security number - on the Sheriff's Office website and that Hunt indicated to the media that he did not know why his employee (Nation) arrested the young man, when, Nation claims, he submitted the proper documentation for the arrest.

Nation also claims that he was denied substantive and procedural due process rights when the Sheriff's Office allegedly did not allow the plaintiff to be heard on the matter until 23 months after the arrest, that the Williams incident was inadequately investigated by Perry and that the publicity required him to put his wife and children in danger and required him to move his children from the area in fear of their safety.

"The Plaintiff has suffered the total destruction of his earning capacity in the field of law enforcement, as well as his personal and private life as a direct and proximate cause and result of the horrific breach of duty the Defendants ACSO and Perry owed Plaintiff," according to the filing.

In summary, Nation claims deprivation of rights, conspiracy to deprive rights, violation of constitutional rights (substantive and procedural due process), defamation, negligence and gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress - outrage, invasion of privacy - publicizing of private affairs of no legitimate public concern, and malicious prosecution as his complaints.

A civil lawsuit represents only one side of the case.

Sheriff's Office Captain Troy Elwell said Wednesday that he could not comment on pending legislation.

"But we do stand behind our decision to terminate Jeff Nation," he added.

SLED could not be reached for comment by press time.

Contact Anna Dolianitis at adolianitis@aikenstandard.com.