2 COLUMBIA PD OFFICERS ACCUSED OF ‘EXCESSIVE FORCE’ IN ARRESTING YOUNG

It turns out that reports of police officers targeting University of South Carolina athletes might be true. That after a Richland County grand jury indicted two City of Columbia cops for allegedly using excessive force while arresting Gamecock lineman Kevin Young last March.

Officers Roger Gilland and David Beddingfield Jr. could spend up to a year in prison and face a $1,000 fine if convicted on counts of misconduct in office stemming from the incident.

Fifth Circuit solicitor Barney Giese sought the indictments after reviewing the findings of a SLED investigation that lasted nearly three months and included interviews with Young and several witnesses. [...]

Babs Lindsay, a spokesperson for the solicitor’s office, said a bond hearing for Gilland and Beddingfield is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Richland County courthouse. Lindsay said Giese does not comment on pending cases.

Columbia Police Chief Tandy Carter declined to comment Friday because he had not seen the indictments. Carter said Gilland and Beddingfield, who is a former state trooper, remain on active duty. Their lawyers expect them to be placed on leave.

The indictments state the officers used “excessive and/or unnecessary force” to arrest the 6-foot-5, 311-pound Young, then misrepresented the facts regarding the incident.

Young, a redshirt sophomore from Clearwater, Fla., claims officers punched him repeatedly and bloodied his nose while subduing him following an early-morning fight between Young and a West Columbia man outside a Five Points bar. [JOSEPH PERSON - The State]

As I said back in March, either Young is a giant sissy, or these cops must have had some kind of competitive advantage. When you’re 6′5″, 300-plus-pounds, you don’t get bullied around by anyone — badge or no badge.

If Young was a kicker or something I might feel bad for him. But, come on, he’s the size of a freaking house.

Regardless, this still doesn’t explain possible-star quarterback Stephen Garcia’s frequent run-ins with the law. For that, we need only ask the Head Ball Coach:

Just Friday, Garcia was the only player to miss a team breakfast.

“Oh, he’s missed a bunch of them,” Spurrier said Saturday. “He misses everything. He’s struggling to do things right. But that’s just him. He can’t hardly call the play right. He gets confused. I don’t know what it is. He just has a tough time.” [TRAVIS HANEY - Charleston Post and Courier]

Glad to see things are coming together nicely for the opening game in 10 days.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2008 at 10:13 am and is filed under Judicial, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.