Beaufort Co. deputy resigns after investigation found he wasn’t ‘completely truthful,’ report says
A Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was working limited duty after being charged with domestic violence “was not completely truthful” when he talked to police after his arrest and later “minimized” what happened in a separate investigation into the incident, according to documents obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
The deputy, former Sgt. Jacob Scott, resigned in lieu of termination late last month.
On March 8, Scott was arrested by the Port Royal Police Department and charged with second-degree domestic violence after an incident with his girlfriend at their Preserve at Port Royal apartment while her young son was home. The Sheriff’s Office immediately placed him on paid administrative leave, then later allowed him to work “limited duty” at the agency’s headquarters, spokesperson Maj. Bob Bromage said at the time.
An internal investigative report from the Sheriff’s Office dated March 19 determined Scott violated multiple standards in the department’s code of conduct, including “Obedience to Laws, Regulations and Orders,” “Off Duty Police Actions,” and “Accountability, Responsibility, and Discipline.”
When Scott was questioned by officers after his arrest, “he was not completely truthful in his responses,” and then during the internal investigation he “minimized his behavior and actions,” the conclusion of the report said.
It also said Scott did not admit to certain acts that may be considered violations of the domestic violence statute until he was about to take a polygraph test.
“Regardless of the status of the criminal charges against Sgt. Scott, it doesn’t negate his responsibility for his actions and behaviors,” the investigator wrote.
The domestic violence charge was dismissed by a Magistrate judge at the preliminary hearing in April due to lack of probable cause, according to Beaufort County court documents.
Following the dismissal of the criminal charge, the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy reinstated Scott’s law enforcement certification on June 17, an email from the Academy’s general counsel to a member of the command staff said.
A day later, four members of the Sheriff’s Office command staff did not recommend Scott for termination but suggested he should be demoted from sergeant to corporal and face one year of probation, a disciplinary action form said.
On June 24, the chief deputy wrote on the same form that “termination is warranted and recommended,” but Scott had already submitted his resignation letter, which was effective immediately, on June 21.
Bromage confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Scott resigned rather than be fired.
This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 5:47 PM.
