Officer accused of detaining SC couple illegally placed on administrative duty

A Colleton County Sheriff’s deputy has been placed on administrative duty pending the conclusion of a SLED investigation into a 2020 incident in which the officer was accused of illegally detaining a couple when he worked for Holly Hill Police.

Shalane Tindal, spokesperson for the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, said, “The Holly Hill Police Department did not disclose this information when we contacted them regarding (Jermaine) Smith’s tenure with their department.”

Three officers, including Smith, arrived at the Orangeburg County home of Shane Glover and Codie Fuller at 2:30 a.m. Aug. 2, 2020, woke and handcuffed them and took them outside in their underwear.

Smith was holding an AR-15 during the 20-minute encounter, which was captured on body-worn cameras and displayed at a news conference held by their lawyer, Justin Bamberg, on Tuesday.

Holly Hill Police Chief Joshua H Detter said, “The Holly Hill PD doesn’t comment on pending litigation. Jermaine Smith is no longer with our agency. We look forward to the truth coming out in the court process.”

Smith was hired by Colleton County on June 7, 2021 and in March received an employee of the quarter award. He was placed on administrative duty April 20, Tindal said.

Bamberg, who represents Bamberg, Barnwell and Colleton counties in the state legislature, said the officers did not have warrants that morning and they were outside their jurisdiction. One of the officers was from Santee, about 13 miles north of where Glover lived outside of Holly Hill.

“This is a ridiculous situation,” Bamberg said, adding later “extremely frustrating.”

He said Smith had asked Fuller why she was dating Glover at some point and Glover wanted to talk to him about it, but the officer sped away. The couple has a young child who was in the house when police arrived.

Early the next morning, officers arrived with lights flashing and guns drawn.

The video from the scene showed Glover asking Smith what he wanted to know and Smith responded, “I would like to know if you have any puppies.”

“Puppies,” Bamberg said. “Their lives were put in danger over puppies.”

Fuller was held in the back of a patrol car.

Bamberg said the couple was terrorized by “people wearing a police costume.”

Later that morning, Glover reported the incident to the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office reported the incident to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division on Aug. 4, 2020, Renée Wunderlich, SLED spokesperson, said.

“The case is open and active; thus, no further details are available at this time,” she said.

The mayors of Holly Hill and Santee did not respond to a request for comment.