Clover, SC, officer fired after arrest in armed ‘standoff’ with deputies: Records
A Clover police officer charged with threatening her boyfriend with a gun then holding the weapon during a “several minute standoff” with South Carolina deputies has been fired, according to officials and records.
Mara Lynn Anderton, 44, remains in the Chester County jail on $75,000 bail after her arrest May 28 on charges of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and resisting arrest.
Deputies who charged Anderton said she followed her boyfriend with the gun after he told her he was moving out of their Chester apartment, then she ran from officers while holding the gun before she was taken into custody, arrest warrants obtained by The Herald show.
Police were called to 5th Street in Chester May 28 around 5:30 p.m. after the victim called 911 to say Anderton was following him with a gun.
Anderton is accused of jumping two fences and refusing to obey responding deputies’ commands to stop and drop the gun, according to a Chester County Sheriff’s Office incident report. She ran into the woods behind her apartment to avoid officers while holding the gun, then jumped two fences.
“Anderton finally stopped and spoke with deputies while continuing to hold the firearm and refusing to drop it,” the incident report states. “Anderton waived the firearm around several times but her finger was not on the trigger and deputies were able to avoid a lethal encounter.”
She was stopped by a third fence, the report states. She dropped the gun before deputies and Chester Police Department officers “ran to contain her,” according to the report.
Anderton then refused to be handcuffed before she was safely taken into custody and the gun secured, deputies said.
In a statement to The Herald, the Chester Sheriff’s Office said the gun was not Anderton’s police-issued weapon and no shots were fired.
Police chief in Clover: Public demands accountability
Clover Police Department Chief Randy Grice said Monday in a statement he terminated Anderton’s employment after a review of reports, police body camera and other information.
“The Clover Police Department holds its officers to the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and accountability,” Grice said. “The trust placed in us by our community is something we take very seriously. When an employee’s conduct falls short of those standards, we have a responsibility to take appropriate action to maintain the integrity of our department and the confidence of the citizens we serve.”
Clover is a town of around 8,000 people northwest of Rock Hill and southwest of Charlotte. It has its own police force of 30-plus officers.
The incident happened 30 miles south of Clover at the edge of the Chester, a small city of around 5,000 people south of Rock Hill.
Anderton had been a patrol officer with the Clover police in York County since 2024, said Sgt. Tracy Reid, a spokesman for the department. She was named Clover officer of the year in 2025 by the Clover Optimist Club.
