Former deputy pleads guilty to assault

Source: FCSO

Florence Co., S.C. (AP)–A former police officer in South Carolina has been ordered to spend six months in prison for hitting a man under arrest and in handcuffs with his flashlight. Investigators say ex-Florence County deputy Brian Proffitt also left information about the beating out of his initial report in February 2019  and again in a follow up report after being given a chance to change his story. Proffitt pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree assault and battery and misconduct in office just before a jury was picked for his trial. A judge sentenced Proffitt to longer prison terms, but he will only have to serve them if he doesn’t complete four years of probation.