COLUMBIA -- Three Columbia police officers are accused of falsely arresting a man outside a Five Points bar and then lying in an official police report to cover it up, according to a federal lawsuit.
Horry County attorney Jonathan David McCoy says officers John K. Passmore, James Heywood and Amanda H. Long violated his Constitutional rights when he was arrested on charges of interfering with police outside Red Hot Tomatoes on Harden Street the night of October 16. The 15-page lawsuit requests unspecified monetary damages and names the police officers as well as the police department and the city of Columbia.
According to the Columbia police incident report, McCoy "grabbed an officer by the arm" after he saw officers attempting to arrest another man. The report further states McCoy then "continued to intervene by getting in [responding officer's]) face."
WACH FOX News was first to release surveillance video of the two-minute incident that appears to contradict the written account of the incident submitted by the officers.
In the video, McCoy can be seen approaching the officers but does not grab them. Two officers are seen shoving McCoy, after which he backs away from the officers. According to the lawsuit, McCoy claims that, as an attorney, he was trying to advise a friend to remain silent as well as to ask the officer why he was being arrested.
WACH FOX News contacted the Columbia Police Department for comment Wednedsay on the lawsuit as well as allegations against the officers. Department spokesman Brick Lewis declined to comment, citing a city policy of not commenting on pending lawsuits.
A spokesman for Mayor Bob Coble said Thursday he was unvailable for comment.
City Councilman and mayoral candidate Kirkman Finlay declined to view a copy of the surveillance video provided by WACH FOX News Thursday. He said the police department would address any allegations of impropriety via an internal investigation. Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit. Councilman Daniel Rickenmann said he is out-of-state, but pledged to issue a response later.
Councilmembers E.W. Cromartie, Belinda Gergel and Sam Davis did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Some other mayoral candidates say the allegations are serious and they expect the city to release additional information. WACH FOX News spoke with Steve Morrison Thursday as he filed papers to run for mayor at City Hall.
"It's inappropriate for police to conduct themselves in the way the allegations are, but at the same time, we have to back up our police officers," said Morrison.
Mayoral candidate Steve Benjamin declined to comment on the specifics of the situation Thursday, but he said allegations of police misconduct must be fully investigated.
"Get all the facts first. Hear every side of the story. If there's a violation, deal with it aggresively," said Benjamin.
Mayoral candidate and Five Points businessman Joe Azar defended officers Thursday and said their job is difficult because many people in Five Points have usually been drinking. Azar said although he has heard rumors of excessive force in the past he has never witnessed misconduct by Columbia police.
"It's a tough job for the cops. They're usually really lenient and understanding," said Azar.
WACH FOX News showed the First on Fox video to Columbia attorney and Constitutional Law expert Jay Bender on Wednesday. According to Bender, the incident report does not accurately reflect the evidence shown by the surveillance video. Furthermore, Bender said citizens have a Constitutional right to question police officers.
“Citizens always have a right to ask law enforcement what’s happening and I see nothing that indicates there was any interference with the arrest because the first person had already been on the ground and handcuffed before the second person walked up and was immediately pushed by the police,” said Bender.
According to a written letter provided by McCoy's attorney's, the city has not responded to multiple requests to drop the charges against McCoy.
"The video evidence is undisputable," reads a portion of the January 8 letter submitted to the city attorney's office.
To watch the entire, unedited, two-minute surveillance video of the arrest outside Red Hot Tomatoes click the video icon at the top of this story.
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