Three of four Aiken police officers at the center of a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging an officer unconstitutionally performed a public cavity search in broad daylight in 2014 have been put on “temporary reassignment” pending an external investigation.

City leaders met with local leaders of Aiken’s black community Friday, hours after news broke that two Aiken County residents, Elijah Pontoon and Lakey Hicks, were suing Aiken Public Safety officers Chris Medlin, Clark Smith, Brian Hall and Penny Schultz; in addition to the Aiken Department of Public Safety, its Chief Charles Barranco and Officer Clark Smith retired from the Aiken Department of Public Safety on July 24, 2015.

“My first reaction was to make phone calls and find out, and I saw the date on (the dashcam footage) and find out why I did not know about it, and secondly, to find out where it was as far as in our process,” said Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon, who first saw the news on Facebook.

On Friday, Osbon quickly called other City officials to meet, which included Aiken City Council member Lessie Price, who at the time of the call was getting ready for bed.

Fellow City Council member Gail Diggs said her daughter showed her the story on her cellphone Friday evening.

Aiken City Manager John Klimm, who noted the heavy turnover of City staff within the past year, said neither he nor Council members, City Attorney Gary Smith and Assistant City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh were aware of the allegations.

Klimm called the entire ordeal a “massive failure in terms of communication.”

After Pontoon and Hicks were pulled over Oct. 2, 2014, both filed a lawsuit Sept. 21, 2015, with the county’s Clerk of Court office; the suit was later moved to federal court in November. The two, who live and have children together, are being represented by Rock Hill attorney Robert Phillips.

The litigation, coupled by dashcam footage, details a search which occurred during a traffic stop over a “paper tag” on Horry Street, near Richland Avenue, in Aiken.

Pontoon, in the complaint, alleges Cpl. Chris Medlin performed an illegal cavity search on the side of the road after receiving consent to search the car and Pontoon, who was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Hicks.

Aiken Public Safety continues to deny the allegations.

In a statement provided to the Aiken Standard on Monday, the police agency said the traffic stop of Pontoon and Hicks was “legal,” as it was part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.

“The traffic stop was a legal stop conducted as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation based on information received from a documented, reliable informant,” the release said. “At no time during the traffic stop, was a body cavity search conducted, nor were any private body parts exposed to the public as alleged.”

The police agency’s statement said that one comment, published in news reports and in the complaint as attributed to Medlin, was actually said by Pontoon.

Pontoon’s complaint states that he objected to Medlin’s “harassment,” to which Medlin responds, “You gonna pay for this one boy.”

However, Public Safety denies Medlin made the comment at all.

“Based on our review (of) the comment attributed to our officer, which was quoted in the complaint as “You gonna pay for this one boy,” was not made by our officer, but instead was made by the vehicle occupant,” the Public Safety statement reads. “We remain dedicated to maintaining the highest level of integrity, service and accountability to those we serve.”

With less than 72 hours after the story broke, first reported by The Washington Post in an opinion piece Friday, Aiken City officials are hoping to move forward.

The first step – hire an outside firm to handle an investigation of what took place Oct. 2, 2014.

“... I’ve been made aware, Council (has been) made aware this is a sensitive community issue, there is a need for objectivity and independence,” Klimm said.

Klimm said he hopes to soon contract with an independent, well-regarded, national company to “come into Aiken and to take a look at this ... as though it happened yesterday.”

The concealed-carry course instructor and at least twice recipient of Public Safety’s Certificate of Commendation, Cpl. Chris Medlin, has now found himself at the center of news after being targeted as the primary officer who allegedly unconstitutionally searched Pontoon on Oct. 2, 2014.

According to the couple’s complaint, Medlin pulled Pontoon and Hicks over near downtown Aiken at about 12:23 p.m.; Medlin told Hicks he pulled her over for the paper tag on her vehicle, which, alongside her license and her bill of sale, was found to be correct and proper.

Pontoon was later put in handcuffs, as officer Clark Smith appeared on scene who, with consent, searched the car, according to the suit.

Several minutes later, Penny Shultz arrived on scene and was ordered to search Hicks, who alleges in the complaint that her breasts were exposed on the side of the road, an allegation the City denies, saying in their statement no private body parts were exposed to the public as alleged.

Though Pontoon alleges in the complaint that Medlin and Clark used their hands and fingers in his body cavity and anus, Public Safety denies the allegations.

The suit claims that at no time did either defendant find any probable cause to warrant a traffic stop or have a valid search warrant for the search.

According to the suit, Pontoon and Hicks were given a “courtesy warning,” with the indication of “contact only.”

The next day, Pontoon and Hicks filed a police complaint against Medlin and Smith at Public Safety headquarters, claiming Medlin pulled Pontoon’s pants down and gave him a cavity search of his rectum, even asking another officer to put gloves on and assist.

In disciplinary files provided to the newspaper, Medlin has faced disciplinary action three times, one related to the October 2014 incident.

Related to the Oct. 2, 2014, incident, Medlin received “remedial training” as punishment after Capt. David Turno reviewed video and statements and found Medlin didn’t abide by the agency’s strip search policy, which is defined by the “removal or rearrangement of clothing that results in the exposure or observation of a portion of a person’s body where that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Public Safety claims as part of the search the waistband of Pontoon’s pants were pulled back, and the officer looked down.

In other disciplinary action, in 2011 Medlin was suspended from duties as a corporal for one working day after he was involved in his third traffic collision, which he was found at fault, since March 2009. In 2014, Medlin was “counseled on” Public Safety’s policy after a resident complained to the agency that Medlin’s punishment of a trespass warning to residents, which included a 3-year-old child, wasn’t warranted.

Aiken City Manager John Klimm said he hopes policies agreed upon by City leaders will begin the City’s move forward toward better transparency with residents.

Aside from placing the police officers on “temporary reassignment” and hiring an outside firm to handle the investigation, the City intends to create a citizens review board to handle each complaint filed against Public Safety, in addition to an internal review.

Klimm said the City also will work with all staff on racial sensitivity training, and even go as far to diversify staff across the board.

“Our staff, especially our Public Safety, needs to reflect the community, even though we have had gains,” Klimm said.

“One of the things that I have always said about this town ... this is a town where we can talk to each other, we can come in a room, have a conversation, you may not like what’s being said, but we can come together and talk to each other,” said Council member Lessie Price, adding she believes more conversation will be needed moving forward.

For Council member Gail Diggs, she hopes the City can be resilient, just as the City was when Public Safety Cpl. Sandy Rogers and Master Public Safety Officer Scotty Richardson were killed several years ago within a couple of months of each other.

“This community went on, we came together, we were strong and made it through,” Diggs said. “When people outside contact me and say, ‘Well, this is the image that people will get when they think about Aiken or when they hear Aiken, South Carolina. I think that’s sad, because that’s not who we are.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Clark Smith retired from the Aiken Department of Public Safety on July 24, 2015.

Maayan Schechter is the digital news editor with the Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.