Former Columbia high school basketball star sues USC police for arrest
A former Richland Northeast High School basketball star has sued to the University of South Carolina Police Department for false arrest and imprisonment after gun charges were dismissed following a traffic stop last year.
Chadwick McKenzie was driving a car owned by his passenger Feb. 16, 2024, when he was pulled over by police. During the stop, officers arrested McKenzie on gun charges with pending drug charges, after finding two handguns, firearm accessories and marijuana according to the lawsuit. The search also found another substance that turned out to be a narcotic, according to police reports obtained by The State.
According to the lawsuit, McKenzie told the police that he was not aware of the items found in the car and that they did not belong to him.
Once arrested, McKenzie was “shocked, scared, embarrassed, and otherwise distressed” because he was implicated in the matter, but had no direct involvement. The lawsuit alleges he was falsely arrested and imprisoned and unlawfully detain by USC police, in an “unreasonable manner and for an unreasonable length of time.” Officers did so maliciously and with the intent to “deprive him of his liberty,” the lawsuit said.
The criminal case continued because of the insistence of USC police, according to the lawsuit, but charges were dismissed.
McKenzie was a standout basketball player at Richland Northeast from 2000 until 2002, according to the school’s athletic’s page.
He helped lead the Cavaliers to their first state championship appearance in 2002, and was the first player in the high school’s history to record a triple-double. A three-year starter and letterman, McKenzie was named a Columbia 4-A player of the year. Following high school, he received a scholarship to play basketball for Louisiana Tech University. After college, he went on to play professional basketball overseas for 8 years.
He was inducted into the Richland Northeast athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.
McKenzie also accused the USC police department of defamation, abuse of process, negligence and malicious prosecution, for which he has suffered and continues to suffer “tremendous and irreparable emotional and mental harm.”
He is seeking damages.
University spokesman Jeff Stensland declined to comment on the pending litigation. The State has reached out to both of McKenzie’s attorneys.
An incident report obtained by The State from the February 2024 arrest said that USC police made a traffic stop on Gervais Street after seeing a car driving without any rear lights. During the stop, officers smelled a “strong odor” of marijuana from inside the car.
Officers had McKenzie and his passenger exit the car for investigative detention. Police searched the car and a found a plastic bag containing a “whitish/brownish powdery substance” in the driver’s side door, as well as a small black handbag in the driver’s side floorboard, which had a 9mm handgun inside. Inside the handbag were several cards, including a debit card, with McKenzie’s name on them. Another .380 handgun was found the car’s center console. Marijuana was found in the glove box.
Because of McKenzie’s proximity to the 9mm handgun, officer asked if he had a concealed weapon permit. McKenzie did not, and said he forgot the gun was there. McKenzie told officers he did not know what the powdery substance was.
USC police ran McKenzie’s criminal history, which showed he was federally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
According to the incident report, he was cited for unlawful carry of a pistol and improper or defective tail lights and was taken to Alvin S Glenn Detention Center.
The handguns, magazines and ammunition were taken by police and the marijuana was tagged to be destroyed. The powdery substance found in the car was tested by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. The test came back positive for psilocin, the primary psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms,” which is considered a Schedule I narcotic, according to a supplemental incident report.
The USC police department was notified of McKenzie’s lawsuit in September 2025, according to a supplemental report obtained by The State. Police checked the status of McKenzie’s case in the Richland County Public Index and found that it had been “dismissed not indicted” by the Richland County solicitor’s office in April 2024.
According to the report, the solicitor on the case was Cecil Kelly “Jack” Jackson Jr., who told police the solicitor’s office was dismissing all “stand-alone cases” in regards to unlawful carry with the passage of the new gun laws.
Jackson, according to the report, was unaware that McKenzie was federally prohibited from possessing a firearm and that the USC police department had potential pending drug charges on the case.
The State has reached out to the solicitor’s office for comment. The office did not respond by Friday morning.
