GREAT FALLS, S.C. — The police chief of the South Carolina town of Great Falls has been suspended following his arrest on misconduct charges, authorities said.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrested Police Chief Jeremy Heath Vinson on Friday on a charge of misconduct in office, the agency said in a statement.
An arrest warrant in the case said Vinson was charged after he negotiated an end to a hit-and-run case in municipal court without authorization from local prosecutors and without notifying the victims, news outlets reported.
Vinson later made false statements to investigators and falsified a supplemental report, according to the warrant.
Following his arrest, Vinson was released from the Chester County jail on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. The Associated Press could not find a listed phone number for Vinson and it was not immediately known if he had an attorney who could speak for him.
South Carolina Attorney General’s Office spokesman Robert Kittle says Vinson has been suspended pending the outcome of the case. The Great Falls Police Department serves a town of about 2,000 people that's located about 55 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
