Rock Hill Herald Logo

Winthrop officer under investigation | Rock Hill Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
  • Customer Service
  • Mobile & Apps
  • Newsletters
  • Archives

    • All News
    • Local News
    • Local Traffic Cam
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Business
    • Education
    • NIE
    • Crime
    • More News
    • Andrew Dys
    • Nation/World
    • Politics/Government
    • Weird News
    • Databases
    • Down Home Magazine
    • Physicians Directory
    • Fort Mill Times
    • Fort Mill Times Sports
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Submit a Letter to the Editor
    • All Sports
    • Panthers
    • College
    • Winthrop
    • High School
    • High School Football
    • Auto Racing
    • Politics
    • Elections
  • Obituaries
    • All Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • To the Contrary
    • James Werrell
    • Palmetto Opinion
    • All Living
    • Community
    • Weddings
    • Engagements
    • Anniversaries
    • Births
    • Religion
    • Family
    • Home & Garden
    • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Books
    • Calendar
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Rewards
    • Horoscopes

  • Legals
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Virtual Career Fair
  • Homes
  • Classifieds

Local

Winthrop officer under investigation

By Adam O'Daniel - Adam O'Daniel

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 21, 2007 12:17 AM

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the May 4 arrest of a Rock Hill man who complained a Winthrop University police officer used excessive force, according to SLED and Winthrop officials.

Winthrop requested the investigation as a third-party review after receiving the complaint, said Rebecca Masters, a university spokeswoman.

Winthrop Police Chief Frank Zebedis said the SLED investigation -- the first in his nine-year tenure at Winthrop -- centers around an incident involving Kendrick V. Alston, 37, of 1107 Dorchester St. in Rock Hill.

A Winthrop police incident report says Alston began fighting with the officer. But Alston and two witnesses say the officer assaulted Alston.

SIGN UP

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Alston was arrested in a shopping center parking lot near the intersection of Cherry Road and Richmond Drive on a charge of driving with a suspended license, according to a Winthrop police incident report.

The report states Winthrop officer Dewayne Bunch, 32, recognized Alston, who is not a Winthrop student, from a previous encounter and believed he was driving illegally. The report states Alston pulled into the center's parking lot, and Bunch arrested him and put him in the back of the patrol car.

After calling a tow truck to pick up Alston's vehicle, Bunch opened the door of the police car to ask Alston a question, and Alston began fighting with the officer, tearing his uniform shirt, according to the report. The report states after the suspect calmed down, two Rock Hill Police Department officers arrived and followed Bunch to the Rock Hill jail.

At the intersection of Cherry Road and Richmond Drive, Alston began kicking the back glass window of the police car, forcing Bunch to pull over, according to a Rock Hill Police Department report. All three officers tied Alston's legs together and he was transported to the jail without any more problems, the report states.

The Winthrop report says Alston was charged with driving under suspension, resisting arrest and damage to property. Alston also was wanted by the York County Sheriff's Office for failure to appear in court on a previous resisting arrest charge.

Alston, currently at the York County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond, recalls a contrasting account of the incident. In a letter to The Herald, Alston contends Bunch, unprovoked, hit him repeatedly immediately following the arrest in the parking lot.

Alston states that on the way to the jail, Bunch pulled off the road, used a piece of rope from the trunk to tie his feet together and beat him again, causing injuries to his knee and cracking two ribs.

"Once the officer cuffed me and put me in the car, he went crazy," Alston wrote. "He beat me very bad and a lot of people were looking. He didn't care."

The incident report did not list any injuries to Alston during the altercation.

Shanita Williams, 36, an assistant manager at Dollar General in the shopping center, said she saw the incident from a storefront window. She said Alston, a regular customer at her store, was walking across the parking lot when the Winthrop officer ran up behind him and placed him under arrest.

Williams said Alston appeared to cooperate and peacefully sat down in the back of the police car. That's when the attack started, she said.

"I noticed the officer's hand going up and down and I said, 'Y'all, it looks like he's beating him,'" Williams said. "Everyone came to the front of the store. There were a lot of witnesses."

Williams, who said she has since been interviewed by SLED and Winthrop police officials, said she went outside the store and yelled at the officer, who stopped hitting Alston.

She said officers from the Rock Hill Police Department escorted the Winthrop car out of the parking lot, turning right onto Richmond Drive. But both vehicles pulled over and the Winthrop officer confronted Alston a second time, Williams said.

"He jumped out of his car again and continued to beat him," she said.

Williams said she doesn't know what conversation may have taken place between Alston and the officer, but said Alston appeared to be peaceful and respectful during the arrest.

"He was more calm than I would have been," she said.

Valerie Slusser, who is employed with Pet Pros in the same shopping center, said she was on her way to get a drink from a neighboring store when she noticed the man being put in the police car.

"He was being punched in the chest area," said Slusser, who added she has been questioned by authorities. "He was not being resistant that I could see. He was yelling to us, 'Someone help me. Do you see what he's doing?'" she recalled. "There were people with phones taking pictures."

She got her drink, but the incident stayed with her.

"As he pulled out (of the area) with the guy in the car, he got out and it looked like he appeared to be wrestling with the man again," Slusser said. "Why would an officer just up and hit anyone? If the man was not resisting arrest, there was no reason for the officer to put his hands on the man in the aggressive manner that he did."

Alston had a lengthy arrest history before the May 4 incident. According to a SLED criminal history report, Alston has been arrested multiple times since 1991 for charges including driving under the influence and petty larceny. In 1998, he was arrested by Winthrop police on a driving with a suspended license charge, according to the SLED report.

In 2005, he was charged in Winnsboro with failure to comply with an officer's directions, and in 2006 was convicted for resisting arrest.

Zebedis, the Winthrop police chief, said no disciplinary actions have been taken. No action would be taken until after a review of the SLED findings.

"If it comes back that there was a violation, then we'll take immediate and appropriate action," Zebedis said. "Right now, there's no need to do that."

Winthrop officials declined to comment further on the incident until after SLED findings are reviewed.

Bunch has been employed as a Winthrop law enforcement officer since 2001 without any disciplinary actions at the school, Masters said. He is currently on active duty, she said.

  Comments  

Videos

Police K-9 dog Gabby receives ‘medal of valor’ for not running from gunfire in 2018

Rock Hill woman still in hospital after Feb. 12 shooting. Her co-workers want to help

View More Video

Trending Stories

Rock Hill armed robber out of jail a month kidnapped man, stole money, police say

February 22, 2019 10:13 AM

Student in Rock Hill charged with bringing weapon to school, police say

February 22, 2019 12:44 PM

‘He helped shape Rock Hill’: Longtime city council member dies at 74

February 22, 2019 01:16 PM

‘Nearly impossible’ goal met. Why more York County animal shelter dogs, cats survive

February 22, 2019 01:47 PM

Play turns deadly when woman’s boxer-mix dogs attack her in family yard, SC cops say

February 22, 2019 02:33 PM

Read Next

Lancaster 2018 robbery cases went cold. Then Charlotte cops found suspects in jail

Crime

Lancaster 2018 robbery cases went cold. Then Charlotte cops found suspects in jail

By Andrew Dys

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 22, 2019 04:19 PM

Two men from Charlotte jailed for several armed store robberies are now charged with two previously unsolved Lancaster, South Carolina crimes. The men were identified after their arrest in North Carolina.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LOCAL

‘Nearly impossible’ goal met. Why more York County animal shelter dogs, cats survive

Local

‘Nearly impossible’ goal met. Why more York County animal shelter dogs, cats survive

February 22, 2019 01:47 PM
York County cops in 2018 gunfight with killer got medals. A K-9 dog got one, too.

Local

York County cops in 2018 gunfight with killer got medals. A K-9 dog got one, too.

February 22, 2019 03:21 PM
‘He helped shape Rock Hill’: Longtime city council member dies at 74

Local

‘He helped shape Rock Hill’: Longtime city council member dies at 74

February 22, 2019 01:16 PM
Student in Rock Hill charged with bringing weapon to school, police say

Crime

Student in Rock Hill charged with bringing weapon to school, police say

February 22, 2019 12:44 PM
Rock Hill armed robber out of jail a month kidnapped man, stole money, police say

Latest News

Rock Hill armed robber out of jail a month kidnapped man, stole money, police say

February 22, 2019 10:13 AM
Some Lancaster County schools closed; power out for 2,000 customers

Local

Some Lancaster County schools closed; power out for 2,000 customers

February 22, 2019 07:32 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Rock Hill Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Advertising Information
  • Place Obituary, Celebration
  • Place Classified, Legal
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story