Former Richland County deputy used excessive force, police say
The same agency that employed Cameron James Duecker arrested him.
Richland County Sheriff’s Department charged Duecker, a former deputy, with assault on Friday after what police said was an excessive use of force.
On Feb. 1, Duecker was called out to a home in the Irmo area for a dispute over a vehicle. The call ended with Duecker using his stun gun on a person as he tried to make an arrest, according to the sheriff’s department.
It wasn’t the person arrested or someone connected to them that claimed abuses by Duecker.
Days after Duecker used his Taser on the person, a supervisor was reviewing use-of-force reports by deputies under his command. The supervisor found inconsistencies in Duecker’s report about the incident, according to department spokesperson Capt. Maria Yturria. Investigators began looking into Duecker’s actions.
The internal investigation found that Duecker excessively used his Taser on the occupant of the home where he’d responded, police said. The department suspended him without pay on Feb. 13 as the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office reviewed the case.
With the advice of the solicitor’s office, the sheriff’s department charged Duecker with third degree assault and battery. On Feb. 22, he turned himself in.
“I’m very disappointed by this deputy’s actions,” Sheriff Leon Lott said in a statement. “I expect more from my deputies. Let his arrest be a message to him and the citizens of Richland County that I will not tolerate this kind of behavior and no one is above the law.”
In the statement, the department said “Sheriff Lott would like to thank the supervisor for doing the right thing and proactively reviewing use-of-force actions.”
Lott will recommend that Duecker’s certification to the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy be revoked “effectively ending his career in law enforcement,” Yturria said.
Police booked Duecker in Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on Friday. A judge gave him bond and he was out of jail by Saturday.
Duecker began his career with the sheriff’s department in April 2017, according to Yturria.
Third degree assault and battery is a misdemeanor punishable with a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for thirty day, or both.
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 12:52 PM.