wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |SC State president issues statement on investigation into police dept.

ORANGEBURG, SC (WIS) – A WIS Investigation took a look into the backgrounds of interim South Carolina State University police chief and the department's commander, which found both men had run ins with law enforcement in their past.

The report aired at 6:02 p.m. Monday, then at 7:05 p.m. that night, the university's spokeswoman Erica Taylor sent an email to all SCSU staff and students, responding to the report. Taylor did not include any media outlets in the email.

The statement is from President Dr. George Cooper and reads, "In effort to be forthcoming with information, open, honest and transparent, I want to reassure you that Interim Police Chief Kenneth McCaster is duly certified by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to carry out the responsibilities as Chief of Police at SC State University.  Moreover, SC State utilizes appropriate processes to ensure that all employees meet the standards set forth for employment by the State Office of Human Resources," Cooper continued, "I remain confident with his level of experience and certain that his leadership will be beneficial during this period of transition. Thank you."

The report took a look at interim chief Kenneth "Mac" McCaster and SCSUPD Commander Anthony Craft's law enforcement file. The investigation started after Cooper fired former chief Michael Bartley and seven other university officials one week ago, amid what Cooper calls "an internal investigation."

SC Department of Public Safety records show three separate arrests involving McCaster. The first came April 2001 when a Trooper charged McCaster with driving under the influence. A magistrate later found McCaster "not guilty" at a bench trial on April 12, 2001.

An Orangeburg County Trooper arrested McCaster in March 2008, while he was serving as Santee Police Chief, after he saw McCaster sit through "several" stop lights at the Highway 601 and Russell Street intersection near the SC State campus. The Trooper reported finding McCaster asleep behind the wheel, with the car running and an open container of alcohol inside the car. The stop happened around 4 a.m. The Trooper charged McCaster with disorderly conduct, improper parking and open container, but couldn't charge him with driving under the influence because the patrol said McCaster's car never moved.

A magistrate found McCaster not guilty of the disorderly conduct charge during a bench trial, and dropped the other two charges, according to the patrol.

Two months later, another Trooper arrested McCaster along Highway 601 in Orangeburg County and charged him with driving under the influence, according to DPS records. That charge was thrown out by a magistrate judge. 

McCaster's law enforcement file shows a career that started at the Richland County Sheriff's Department in 1986 and includes stints at the Saluda, Eastover, Claflin University, Lake City, Santee and SC State police departments. McCaster also worked as a deputy under former Orangeburg County sheriff Larry Williams.

The file shows that during McCaster's run with the Saluda Police Department, he was arrested and charged with a crime, but the exact charge is redacted from McCaster's file with a note dated November 2008 stating, "redacted 4-19-11 pursuant to order to destroy arrest records." The charge came around November 2001.

McCaster left Saluda and joined the Eastover Police Department in February 2003. Town council terminated him in May 2004. The file shows town council voted against renewing McCaster's employment contract.

In January 2005, McCaster joined the Lake City Police Department as chief during the time the Federal Bureau of Investigation was conducting a corruption investigation into the town's leadership and police force. Former town manager George Simmons fired McCaster six months later and turned in a "misconduct report" to the state's police academy.

In Simmons' report, he outlined his reasons for firing McCaster because he, "sought to maintain officers who knowingly were not certified…sought to fire other officers," and that McCaster turned over information to the state's police academy, "to obtain terminations," "hide the truth from supervisors," and he "engaged in conduct detrimental" to the lake city Police Department," according to the misconduct report.

In a two-page letter to what McCaster described as the "Good Citizens" of Lake City, the former chief laid out his "truth of the matter," of his firing. McCaster wrote, "The City should not use intimidation and court cases to quiet their political rivals into submission." The letter outlines 20 separate items McCaster said he objected to take part in under a man he called, "King George."

Simmons was convicted in 2008 of stealing money from the town and ordered to repay more than $30,000.

Following McCaster's firing, the FBI arrested Simmons and other town officials, including Lake City police officer Shanita McKnight. A federal jury convicted McKnight on multiple counts of drug trafficking and extortion in Oct. 2008. SLED agents testified that McKnight "tipped off" drug dealers during the investigation. She's serving a 20 year sentence.

A further look into records revealed SC State University Police Department Commander Anthony Craft has a criminal conviction on one count of "unlawful carrying of a pistol," a class C charge under the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms classification system.

In July 2002, Richland County deputies arrested Craft and charged him with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and the weapons charge. Deputies booked Craft. Craft was working at the SC State University Police Department when he was arrested.

Former 5th Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese's office dropped the CDV high and aggravated charge, but records show that in exchange, Craft pleaded guilty to the weapons charge. A judge sentenced Craft to one year probation.

Three months after the conviction, and while he was serving probation, Craft applied for and got a position with the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Craft did not tell SCDC officials about his conviction, according to documents inside his file. SCDC sent the state's police academy records that show the reason for his firing was because Craft, "withheld criminal conviction information," and that he was "dishonest/untruthfulness."

Craft had to explain to the academy why he did not tell SCDC about his criminal conviction. In a two-page letter, Craft wrote, "I was totally, and honestly unaware that this conviction data was part of my criminal history record," Craft continued, "I simply comprehended the nolle prossed non-conviction data as having no prior criminal history record." The only charge Giese's office dropped, also known as "nolle prosse" was the CDVHAN charge, according to Craft's file.

Prosecutors listed the classification of Craft's weapons charge as Class C, which records show would not keep him from carrying a firearm, and would not cost him his law enforcement career.

Craft earned a pardon from the state parole board on March 2, 2010. Before the pardon and while Craft was still carrying the conviction on his criminal record, Craft worked at the SCSUPD, under the late Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams, before he went back to SCSUPD to work as a law enforcement officer. 

Craft would not answer questions about his record and certification Monday.

Requests for interviews with interim police Chief Kenneth McCaster, as well as SC State president George Cooper have not been granted as of this report.

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