Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy charged with drunk driving and child endangerment, police say
A veteran Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy was put on suspension after he was arrested and charged with drunk driving and child endangerment Friday night, law enforcement officials say.
James Prusinowski, 36, — who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for more than 12 years — was charged with first offense DUI with a blood alcohol content of more than .10% but less than .16%, according to court records.
S.C. Highway Patrol troopers responded to a vehicle collision in the parking lot of Avalon Shores Apartments on Simmonsville Road just after 9 p.m. Friday, spokesperson Lance Cpl. Matt Southern said Saturday morning.
Prusinowski allegedly was driving a vehicle that was not his and struck a pickup truck in the parking lot and the troopers determined Prusinowski was under the influence of alcohol, Southern said.
Southern said generally speaking, suspects charged with DUI will also be charged with child endangerment if there is a child or children in the vehicle at the time.
Prusinowski was booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center around 12:15 a.m. Saturday, according to the jail log. He was released on a personal recognizance bond totaling $1,836.75 later that morning, court documents say.
Prusinowski was off duty at the time of the incident and has been suspended from his duties at the Sheriff’s Office while an internal affairs investigation is conducted, according to a Saturday morning Sheriff’s Office news release.
Within the last month and a half, at least two other Beaufort County law enforcement officers have been arrested and charged with crimes in the county, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet.
On Feb. 24, Bluffton Police officer Brady Lee was arrested and charged with public disorderly conduct after he allegedly assaulted fellow off-duty officers at a Bluffton bowling alley. Lee resigned the next week.
On March 8, Sheriff’s Office sergeant Jacob Scott was arrested and charged with second-degree domestic violence after he and his girlfriend allegedly fought and threw objects at each other in their Port Royal apartment as her small child watched, a police report said.
The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette do not typically name those facing misdemeanor charges but are doing so in this case because the suspect holds a position of public trust.
This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 10:04 AM.
