Here are how many SC law enforcement officers have been charged with crimes so far in 2023

Twelve people — officers, guards and a 911 operator — have been charged with crimes and fired or suspended from their jobs this year after investigations by the State Law Enforcement Division.

The allegations include punching inmates, improperly handling cases, heroin possession, assault and battery and criminal sexual conduct.

Some were alleged to have taken place while on duty or involved their work as public servants; others in their private lives.

The charges against one officer have been dropped.

The number of public servants charged by SLED for the first six months of 2023 is less than in previous years. Fifteen were charged in the first part of 2022 and 19 in the second. In 2021, 15 were charged between January and June and 19 in the six months afterward.

From Jan. 1 to June 30, SLED charged the following people with crimes. This list includes only allegations against officers investigated by SLED. .

Jan. 20 — Jeremy Heath Vinson, 45, was chief of the Great Falls Police Department since 2020. He was suspended after being accused of negotiating a plea deal in Municipal Court in a hit and run case without input from the Solicitor’s Office in Lancaster or telling the victims in the case. The collision happened in December 2021. Vinson was also accused of making false statements to investigators and falsifying a supplemental report, according to the warrant.

Vinson was released from the Chester County jail on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. The town has an interim chief. Robert Kittle, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said this case is pending.

Feb. 6 — Johnathan Lewis Goldsmith, 38, was charged with assault and battery and was fired from his job as a Kershaw County deputy. He is accused of using excessive force at the Kershaw County Detention Center on May 24, 2020 against someone being booked. The warrant said the victim was being noncompliant and Goldsmith allegedly punched the victim twice in the arm and abdomen. He is awaiting trial and free on a $10,582 bond.

Feb. 17 — Thomas “Trey” Franklin James III, 31, of Darlington was accused of buying and using heroin while on duty as a Darlington Sheriff’s Deputy. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and misconduct in office. The drug was found inside his patrol vehicle by another deputy getting department-issued equipment, according to the arrest warrant. James is awaiting trial and posted a $7.500 surety bond.

March 7 — Patrick Cowan Henry Jr., 46, an Anderson County deputy, was charged on March 6 with ill treatment of animals after his 7-year-old brindle white American Staffordshire Terrier was seen in an emaciated condition. The dog weighed 42 pounds, the warrant says. “Her ribs, lumbar spine, pelvic bones and all bony prominences were visible from a distance,” the warrant says. Animal control officers seized the dog and took it to Anderson County Pets Are Worth Saving Animal Shelter for medical treatment. He was released on a $3,000 personal recognizance bond, according to court records.

March 15 — James Edward Chambers Jr, 30, a Lexington County deputy, was charged with official misconduct and two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses. The warrant alleges he obtained seven firearm suppressors for personal use from businesses licensed to sell firearms from March 18, 2021 through Sept. 10, 2021. He allegedly told the business he was acting on behalf of the agency and got the suppressors without having to comply with federal tax regulations. His case is pending and he was released on a personal recognizance bond.

March 22 — Brooklyn Danielle McDaniel, 26, formerly a 911 dispatcher in Cherokee County, was charged with releasing confidential information from the police computer system on June 1, 2022. The charge is misconduct in office and she received a personal recognizance bond while awaiting trial.

April 3 — Quintard Haason Tucker, 50, then a Horry County Police officer was accused of domestic violence, burglary and assault and battery. The charges stems from an accusation that Tucker went into a motel room at Compass Cove Resort in Myrtle Beach, pushed the victim onto the bed and punched them in the face four times. The warrant also alleges he pushed the victim to the ground twice. The assault and battery charges were dismissed in a preliminary hearing June 9 by Magistrate Christoper John Arakas, according to public records. He was not indicted on the domestic violence charge and it was dropped in May. The Horry County Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. When the arrest was announced by SLED a spokesperson said Tucker was no longer with the department.

April 10 - Gabriel William Mulkey, 25, is accused of misrepresenting the number of hours he worked on official duty for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

The arrest warrants allege from Jan. 1, 2021 through Sept. 14, 2022, Mulkey claimed he was working but was doing extra duty outside his normal employment, resulting in being paid $2,677.14 in wages payments from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

He was fired on Oct. 10, 2022. The charges are misconduct in office and obtaining signature under false pretenses. No record listed.

Kittle, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said this case is pending.

April 19 - Travelers Rest Police officer Gerard James Hildebrandt, 40, is accused of taking someone to a remote location at Travelers Rest High School, and forced her to perform oral sex on him while on duty on July 3, 2022. He also performed oral sex on her, the warrant says. He is charged with criminal sexual assault and misconduct in office. SLED said the allegations were based on body camera footage, physical evidence and statements from the victim. Civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers is representing the woman in a federal lawsuit. He posted $125,000 bond and is awaiting trial.

May 5 — James Patrick Florida III, 33, of Edgefield, was charged with second-degree domestic violence. The arrest warrant says the then-Edgefield County deputy on July 22, 2022 hit someone in the face and body. A cell phone was broken. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. He was released on $5,000 bond.

June 17 — Morgan Elridge Ridges, 54, of Bennettsville, was charged with assault and battery and misconduct in office. The warrant said Ridges, then a corrections officer in Marlboro County, allegedly used excessive force on an inmate who was handcuffed and lying on the floor. The inmate’s head was pinned to the floor with a foot and then was kicked in the head and punched in the face trying to put a spit mask on the inmate. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and is awaiting trial.

The victim, Eldred Joe, 30, has hired Sellers to pursue civil action.

Sheriff Larry McNeil said in a statement after the charges were brought, “As soon as I first watched the video, I immediately suspended Correctional Officer Ridges and turned the investigation over to SLED. Independent investigations are a cornerstone of public trust in the criminal justice system.”

June 28 — Jonathan Lemar Davis, 50, of Summerville, was is charged with third-degree assault and battery. The warrant says Davis, a Dorecheter County Sheriff’s deputy, was at a hearing to remove someone from a church board in Blackville on June 1. The two got into a verbal altercation and Davis allegedly ran toward the victim and pushed them from behind outside of the church.

The incident was recorded on the church’s surveillance system. Davis was booked at the Barnwell County Detention Center and placed on administrative leave. Davis posted a $2,000 personal recognizance bond, according to Barnwell County court records.