UPDATE:  A recently terminated Florence County sheriff’s deputy, Brian Proffitt, had faced a lawsuit in 2016 for assault and false imprisonment.

News13 obtained a copy of the lawsuit on Thursday that outlines the allegations a husband and wife made against Proffitt. The couple accused him of alleged assault, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process and malicious prosecution.

Here’s how the lawsuit, filed in March 2016, outlines what happened:

  • The couple say Proffitt charged them with “breach of peace.” A magistrate immediately released them on their own recognizance. 
  • The next day, Proffitt went to a different magistrate to get new warrants for the couple’s arrest.
  • This time, it was a Sunday night, and the couple said Proffitt told them they could thank the magistrate they didn’t have to spend the night in jail the first time, but they would spend the night in jail this time.
  • In a deposition, Deputy Bennett Brown, one of the deputies involved, “admitted that his coworkers were upset that the plaintiffs had not spent the night in jail and that those feelings likely played a role in when the warrants describe in paragraph nineteen were served.”

Sheriff Kenney Boone, Glen Kirby and John Doe also were named in the lawsuit because they were alleged to have engaged in “overt acts and omission in furtherance of a conspiracy resulting in the deprivation of constitutional rights of the plaintiffs.”

Boone, Kirby and Doe were also accused in the lawsuit of “conspiring to cover up the constitutional violations of” Proffitt. 

The lawsuit was dismissed, according to court documents from January 2018. 

“It is order that this action is hereby dismissed without costs and without prejudice. If settlement is not consummated within sixty (60) days, either party may petition the Court to reopen this action and restore it to the calendar.”

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FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – A Florence County sheriff’s deputy, who was terminated from his job, has been charged with assault and battery and misconduct in office, according to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Brian Thomas Proffitt, 35, of Effingham, is alleged to have knowingly omitted material information from an incident report that would have potentially implicated him in an alleged assault, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. 

Investigators also allege Proffitt committed an assault on a suspect during an arrest. During the investigation, Proffitt was on administrative leave until his employment with FCSO was terminated on Wednesday.

News13 learned Proffitt had been terminated from the Darlington Police Department in August 2009, just before he was hired by the Florence department in September 2009.

According to state records, Proffitt was terminated from the Darlington department for “violation of agency police not involving misconduct as defined by” state regulations.

The Darlington department would not rehire him because of “numerous write-ups, sleeping on duty,” according to the documents. News13 requested employment and training records for Proffitt from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.

A section of the documents asked if the Darlington Police Department would hire Proffitt again. A box labeled “No” had been checked.

According to the Florence County Detention Center website, Proffitt was booked Wednesday at 10:07 a.m. and released at 4:12 p.m. on a $5,000 bond. He’s charged with misconduct in office and assault and battery – second degree.

You can count on News13 for updates as they become available. The full lawsuit is available here.