N.A. officer arrested, suspended
A North Augusta Public Safety officer has been suspended after he was arrested on allegations he grabbed his girlfriend from a parked vehicle during an argument and threw her down to the ground, causing her to strike her head on the ground.
Brandon L. Cameron was arrested Wednesday and transported to the Aiken County detention center where he was charged with criminal domestic violence.
North Augusta Public Safety immediately suspended the officer, according to an official statement released by the North Augusta Department of Public Safety's spokesperson Lt. Tim Pearson.
Cameron had worked at the department for three years.
The Aiken County Sheriff's Office was the arresting agency. According to reports, tempers flared between Cameron and his live-in girlfriend about 10:15 a.m.
According to the incident report, Cameron called 911 from the parking lot of the Windsor Fire Department after an argument between the two escalated.
Only moments before, the two nearly collided head-on with a tractor-trailer, according to reports.
When deputies met with the couple, they said the truck the two were in had two flat tires.
The couple had been traveling west on Highway 78 when the vehicle they were in veered into the path of an oncoming 18-wheeler. The victim was driving, officials said.
The driver reportedly over corrected and went off the roadway.
She told deputies they were both shaken up, and she told Cameron to drive.
The two were out of the vehicle after the near-miss. According to police, the victim said Cameron was going to walk home but did not.
She then grabbed one of four pistols in the vehicle and fired it into the ground to "let him know she was serious" and to leave her alone, deputies said.
She said she fell to her knees and put the weapon on the ground.
Cameron then took the gun from her and put it into the vehicle, according to the report.
She got into the driver's side and sat down. Cameron then reportedly grabbed her by her left arm and attempted to pull her out of the vehicle. In doing so, she said he lost his grip and fell. He got up and grabbed her again by her arm and pulled her out of the truck and reportedly "threw her" on the ground, causing her to hit her head on the ground, the incident report states.
She said he climbed on top of her while she was on the ground and told her that he loved her and was sorry but she needed help, deputies reported.
The couple then got into the vehicle and waited on deputies.
When deputies arrived, they noticed the condition of the car and secured the weapons.
Deputies said that Cameron's story changed several times when they asked him to explain what happened.
He was arrested. She was not charged and was not transported for medical attention.
According to the incident report, the woman was upset that Cameron was going to jail and wanted to pull her statements from the investigation.
The investigation is still ongoing, said Aiken County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Dave Myers.
The weapon involved was not the officer's duty weapon.
North Augusta Public Safety issued is press release about the suspension about 2:40 p.m.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.