SC deputy fired after shooting SUV during traffic stop, sheriff’s office says
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A deputy was fired a day after he shot an SUV during a recent traffic stop, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Christopher Williams was terminated Wednesday after he violated the department’s use of force policy, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Williams had been with the sheriff’s office uniformed patrol division since December 2021, according to the release.
The shooting happened at about 10:10 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Williams pulled over a Nissan Pathfinder near the intersection of Howlandville Road near Cemetery Road and got into a confrontation with the woman driving the SUV, according to the release.
Williams then fired his gun, hitting the back of the SUV as the woman drove away, the sheriff’s office said.
There was a chase, which ended when the woman was taken into custody without incident about a mile away in the 200 block of Schley Street, according to the release.
No one was injured, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
The driver was taken to the Aiken County Detention Center where she was expected to be charged with failure to stop for a blue light and possession of a Schedule IV substance, the sheriff’s office said.
Before Williams was fired, he was placed on administrative leave as the sheriff’s office asked SLED to lead an investigation into the shooting. That investigation remains ongoing even though Williams is no longer with sheriff’s office, and he could face criminal charges.
This was the seventh shooting in South Carolina this year involving a law enforcement officer, according to SLED. It’s the first such incident involving the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.
Last year SLED said it investigated 32 shootings involving a law enforcement officer, and four were in Aiken County.
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