Officer Assaults Inmate
Former Gaffney police officer charged with assault
GAFFNEY, S.C. – A former Gaffney police officer has been charged with assault on an inmate at the Cherokee County jail.
Court records show that Billy Hyatt has been charged with third-degree assault and battery. Hyatt was a former sergeant with the department.
The records show Hyatt was suspended in September after a report of an assault at the jail. The records show that several days later he talked with the police chief and resigned. The State Law Enforcement Division handled the investigation.
Thirty-three-year-old Joshua Dewayne Rankin of Gaffney was taken to the jail Sept. 16 on a domestic violence charged. City officials have said Rankin was being taken to the jail when he was attacked. Rankin was taken to a hospital for treatment before he was returned to the jail.
