Sheriff Michael Hunt fired one of his deputies Wednesday morning after learning that the officer assaulted a victim while off-duty at Citizen’s Park in Aiken.
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The assault by Deputy Joshua Mathis allegedly occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night during a baseball game for 13-14 year old boys.
Witnesses tell The Jail Report that the officer was off-duty when he got into an argument with an older man and pushed the man, causing the victim to suffer cuts to his elbows from falling to the ground. An ambulance was called to the field.
“(The deputy) had an opportunity to de-escalate the situation and he didn’t,” the witness told us.
Aiken Public Safety officers investigated and arrested Mathis for assault & battery in the third degree. A second individual was also arrested, according to an ACSO press release. That name was not immediately available, and an incident report regarding the fight was expected to be released later Wednesday.
“Upon Mathis’ arrest, his employment with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office was terminated,” the ACSO press release says. “Mathis was employed with this agency since June 2010 until his termination.”
The press release includes this statement from Sheriff Michael Hunt: “We hold our employees accountable for their actions on duty and off duty. This type of behavior will not be tolerated.”
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