Ex-S.C. prison officer was fired for misconduct. How did he become a Hardeeville cop?
A former Ridgeland Correctional Institution lieutenant who was fired in 2019 after he was accused of leaving two inmates in a cell where one stabbed the other was hired by the Hardeeville Police Department this week.
Oscar Torres was hired as a new recruit by the Hardeeville Police Department on Monday. His arrest in the Ridgeland incident has been expunged, officials said.
“We went through the process, and we know about the incident at the prison,” said Hardeeville Chief of Police Sam Woodward. “We interviewed several people about the incident.”
“He passed the polygraph. He passed the psychological test,” said Woodward. “He did everything he had to do.”
Torres, 38, did not respond to a request for comment.
On July 23, 2019, the S.C. Department of Corrections fired Torres for “eliminating any opportunity for escape of another inmate (who) was stabbed multiple times with a homemade edged weapon in an attempt to take the inmates life,” according to his termination letter, obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
Torres, of Beaufort was charged with misconduct in office in the assault that occurred two months before his firing.
The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, however, declined to prosecute the case, and Torres’ arrest has been expunged.
When a case is expunged, all records of a person’s arrest or charges are destroyed if he or she meet a specific threshold, such as a first offense or the charges were dropped.
The Solicitor’s Office does not comment on such expungements as a matter of policy, according to spokesperson Jeff Kidd.
What happened?
On May 31, 2019, Torres was conducting a security check at a Ridgeland Correctional housing unit when an inmate, James Bourgoin, asked Torres if he could pick up some laundry from another inmate’s cell, according to a SCDC incident report.
Torres brought him there.
Bourgoin asked if he could go into the cell to speak to the other inmate, the report said.
“Lt. Torres granted the request without knowing inmate Bourgoin’s real intent for wanting to enter the cell,” according to the report. “Lt. Torres locked the cell door then continued his security check.”
Bourgoin “produced a homemade knife and stabbed the victim numerous times about the arms and legs,” according to a Solicitor’s Office indictment of Bourgoin on a charge of assault and battery in the first degree.
When Torres returned, he let Bourgoin out and said he didn’t notice evidence of an assault, the report said.
A few minutes later, the injured inmate told Torres he “had been assaulted ... .”
“There was no malicious intent nor did I think anything of this nature would transpire,” wrote Torres in his incident report. “However, someone was hurt because of my carelessness and I accept responsibility for my actions,”
What now?
The case against Bourgoin is still active and being prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Torres is no longer attached to that case due to the expungement of his record.
Woodward said Torres will be sworn in as a Hardeeville police officer after he completes four weeks of in-house training followed by eight weeks of training at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
