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Supervisors with the Sheriff's Office were informed that Lance Cpl. David Singleterry might have had inappropriate contact with the woman, and they immediately began an internal affairs inquiry, said Sheriff P.J. Tanner.
Singleterry was fired Aug. 24 after it was determined he engaged in "conduct unbecoming of an officer," the sheriff said.
"We have always pursued these sorts of incidents -- good, bad or indifferent," Tanner said. "If a deputy screws up, he screws up. We police the police internally, and strictly enforce our policies. We take these situations very seriously. "
About two weeks ago, the Sheriff's Office asked the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate Singleterry, who worked as a deputy for about two years, according to Tanner. Such investigations routinely take months to finish.
Because law enforcement officers are required by law to answer questions during internal affairs investigations, SLED won't be able to use any of the information learned from Singleterry during the probe. In criminal matters, officers, like anyone else, have the constitutional right to remain silent.
SLED will send its final report to Solicitor Duffie Stone, who will review it to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. Stone would not speculate about the investigation's outcome.
"I will make a decision based on what SLED delivers," he said.
The allegations against Singleterry involve a 30-year-old Bluffton woman arrested in August on a simple assault-and-battery charge after allegedly getting into a fight with her neighbors.
Singleterry was driving her to the county jail early on a Saturday morning and apparently stopped off near Lemon Island Marina citing vehicle trouble, according to several law enforcement sources.
The woman has past convictions for writing bad checks and drug possession, the latter charge stemming from a 2007 wreck in which officers confiscated a half-gram of cocaine and 59 Percocet pills, according to a Bluffton police report.
Neither the woman nor her attorney, Dudley Ruffalo, could be reached for comment.
Singleterry, when reached by phone Thursday, declined comment about the allegations against him. He said he has no hard feelings toward the Sheriff's Office.
"It was a great place to work," he said.
On Thursday, a sheriff's deputy at the Bluffton Magistrate's Court dropped charges against many of the people ticketed by Singleterry, most for minor traffic violations. It was unclear how many charges were dropped, but it appeared to involve about a dozen people.
More serious cases, such as drunken driving, were delayed while the Sheriff's Office determines how to proceed.
