Fired deputy Nation drops civil suit, will run for sheriff

Jeff Nation

Former Aiken County Sheriff's Office deputy Jeff Nation dismissed a federal civil suit against members of the Aiken County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, and on the same day, announced his plans to run for sheriff against Michael Hunt in the upcoming election.

Nation, who in August 2010 was cleared of assault and battery charges in connection with a September 2008 arrest in which he struck a teenager while on duty in New Ellenton, dropped the civil suit that claimed Hunt and other members of the department, as well as an agent with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, caused Nation "intense distress, public humiliation, and embarrassment," and damaged his earning capacity, according to the lawsuit.

"My alleged statement in my lawsuit that they singled me out with prejudice, I believe is absolutely 100 percent true," Nation said Wednesday. "I just think that because of the focus that I need to put on this intention to run for the Sheriff's office in this next election, [the lawsuit] is something that is hanging over me personally and is a distraction."

Nation said that he intends to run as a Republican. Sheriff's Office spokesperson Capt. Troy Elwell confirmed that Sheriff Michael Hunt intends to run for re-election.

Nation was found not guilty of assault and battery in 2010 after claiming that he acted in self-defense when he was seen on video striking 18-year-old Lorenzo Williams in the throat, and arresting him after Nation told him to pull his pants up and Williams responded by pulling his shirt down to cover his underwear.

The civil suit specifically cited Hunt, Chief Deputy Dwayne Courtney, Capt. John Fogle, Lt. Jonathan Clough and SLED agent Michael Perry as defendants.

Nation dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice on Wednesday in Columbia during what Sheriff's Office attorney Robert Garfield said was the first and last court-ordered mediation session.

There was no monetary settlement in the case, according to a court document, and the Sheriff's Office states it went into the lawsuit maintaining it would not offer a settlement, and it stuck to that decision.

The parties agreed to waive the right to pursue any further civil litigation against each other related to the facts of the federal case, and the Sheriff's Office insurance carrier agreed to split the cost of Wednesday's mediation, a Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Troy Elwell.

The Sheriff's Office parties in the case "have all been united in their belief that we acted properly and would prevail should this case ever have gone to trial," Elwell said.

The parties will pay their own legal fees, Nation said.

Nation said that his intent to seek the Sheriff's seat, which comes up for re-election this year, has been something he has wanted to do for a long time, and the events following the September 2008 assault and battery charge are part of the reason he intends to run.

"I want to bring in the honesty and the integrity," he said. "I can bring a lot more professionalism than what's been seen."

Nation said that he began his career with Aiken Public Safety in 2000, and between 2001 and 2008, worked at Public Safety and the Aiken County Sheriff's Office until he was terminated in 2008.

Filing for those intending to run for office opens March 16 at noon and closes March 30 at noon.

The state primaries are to be held June 12.

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, as well as court and legal matters affecting Aiken County. She has been with the Aiken Standard since August 2010.