MYRTLE BEACH
Two local officers are no longer with their respective police forces after witnesses said they were intoxicated and exposed themselves in front of families on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Officer Charles Henry Dean, 30, of the Horry County Police Department resigned on Monday, according to Sgt. Robert Kegler. Dean recently was involved in a videotaped beating of a Longs man during an arrest on Bellamy Road in Little River.
Officer David Gaither, 50, was terminated from his position Monday with the Myrtle Beach Police Department as of Monday, according to Capt. David Knipes.
Both police departments conducted their own internal investigations before it was announced the officers were no longer on the job.
It is not known whether charges will be filed against Dean or Gaither in connection with the incident, Kegler said.
Sarah Delosantos of Conway said Tuesday that she saw Dean
``shaking his butt and mooning everybody'' on July 5 near The Boathouse, located Hard Rock Parkway in Horry County.
Delosantos said
she was with four children _ ages 7, 10, 12 and 14 _ who witnessed the acts. One of Delosantos' friends took photos of Dean and about 15 other people near him who were ``shotgunning alcohol,'' she said.
``We didn't even know Charles Dean was a cop until we showed the officer the photos and he said `I think he's an officer,''' Delosantos said. ``We know Gaither was a cop.''
Delosantos said one of her friends confronted Gaither at the time of the incident and asked him to stop what he was doing.
On May 18, a video from an officer's dashboard-mounted camera shows Dean punching Krishmer Shamar Bessent, 30, several times in the face and kicking him once in the abdomen, just minutes after the man had taken the officer's Taser and fired it. An internal investigation cleared Dean of wrongdoing.
Dean, a patrol officer, was hired by Horry County police in October, 2006.
Gaither, a traffic officer, was hired by Myrtle Beach police in September, 2000, according to city records.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks