SLED investigates former Bluffton police sergeant

The S.C. Law Enforcement Division is investigating a former Bluffton police sergeant who allegedly played in illegal poker games with several known criminals, officials said.

Darryl Jackson, who worked for the Bluffton Police Department for nine years, is being investigated after allegations of misconduct in office, officials said. No charges have been filed, SLED spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said Thursday.

In November, the Beaufort County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force spotted Jackson's undercover patrol car outside a home that was the target of surveillance because of "known criminal activity," Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Thursday. He declined to go into specifics, citing an on-going investigation.

Tanner said Jackson was seen at homes in Beaufort and Jasper counties during that investigation.

Bluffton police were alerted to the task force investigation in late April, and Jackson resigned on May 1, records show.

Bluffton Police Chief David McAllister won't speculate on the reasons behind jackson's resignation. He did say Jackson had been considering resigning due to personal reasons before Bluffton police were made aware of the allegations.

"The entire time I've been here and worked with him -- a little more than three years or so -- Jackson's performance has been exemplary," McAllister said.

Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone said he asked SLED to conduct an investigation and is waiting on a report of the findings,expected in the coming weeks. Stone won't make a decision on what, if any, charges would be filed in the case until that report is available.

Jackson was hired in Bluffton in September 1999. He resigned in October 2002, citing personal reasons, records show. He returned to the department seven months later and served there until his most recent resignation on May 1.

His time on the job was marked by some controversy.

Jackson, then a detective, was chastised by Stone in October 2005 after he pulled over a confidential informant en route to purchase drugs from a dealer during an ongoing narcotics sting. It was unclear why he stopped the car.Stone called Jackson's actions "reckless, dangerous and unprofessional" because the officer was aware of the ongoing investigation.

No charges were filed in the incident because the drug dealer wasn't present during the stop and it didn't interrupt the investigation.

As a result of the incident and subsequent investigation, Bluffton police voluntarily stopped handling drug investigations. They resumed them in 2007.