Suspended Chester Sheriff Alex Underwood, under indictment, files for re-election
Suspended Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood, who is under indictment by federal and South Carolina prosecutors, has filed for re-election, state election information shows.
Underwood filed for office Monday morning before filing closed at noon, officials said.
The election is in November. The filing was logged in by the South Carolina Election Commission, according to its website.
Underwood, a Democrat, first won election as sheriff in Chester County in 2012. He was the first-ever African American sheriff elected in Chester County. He was re-elected in 2016.
Underwood, called “Big A” in court documents, was suspended from office May 7 by S.C. Gov Henry McMaster after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of civil rights violations, excessive force, altering police reports, and lying to the FBI. Two other deputies also were charged.
The charges stem from a 2017 incident involving a Fort Lawn man and his mother. Federal and state prosecutors say Underwood lied about the incident and tried to cover it up by falsifying documents and making a false arrest.
Then in November, a South Carolina state grand jury indicted Underwood on state charges related to the same incident.
No trial dates have been set.
Underwood has pleaded not guilty in both federal and state courts and has no criminal convictions, court officials said in previous court hearings.
Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the South Carolina Election Commission, said only candidates who have been convicted of a felony cannot run for office.
“In this case, I don’t think there’s been a conviction,” he said. “There’s a trial. There’s a charge. It’s not resolved.”
He said the political party will judge Underwood’s qualifications.
“The most direct answer to why he was allowed to file is that the county board does not judge the qualifications of a partisan member,” he said. “But the party will likely certify him — and I defer to the party — but they’ll likely certify him because he hasn’t been convicted of anything.”
Max Dorsey, a former State Law Enforcement Division agent, was appointed interim sheriff by McMaster on May 7. Dorsey filed for election last week as a Republican.
No other candidates filed for Chester County sheriff, according to the South Carolina Election Commission’s website.
Chester County, between Rock Hill and Columbia, has about 32,000 residents.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Suspended Chester Sheriff Alex Underwood, under indictment, files for re-election."
