Columbia police officer Tyrone Pugh has been suspended without pay pending investigation by the internal police department and S.C. Law Enforcement Division.
In a video that circulated on social media, Pugh was captured striking a man who was lying on the ground several times.
The man, who has not been identified, was standing near the scuffle when the officer grabbed him, threw him to the ground and started punching him, said Robyn Hogg, who shot a video of the incident.
“He said, ‘I didn’t do anything.’ He wasn’t resisting,” said Hogg, 19, from Columbia. “I think it was unnecessary. Two other cops there were aggressive but not like that.”
When a bystander him “why are you punching him?” Pugh responded: “Back the (expletive) up.”
Officials said that five off-duty police officers were in the parking lot of Sound Stage nightclub when a fight broke out among a group of people outside the venue. The officers tried to control the crowd.
The unidentified man was not arrested, but two other men were charged with fighting outside Columbia Soundstage. Both men were released after posting bonds of $1,100 each, according to court records.
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said he was troubled by what he saw Pugh doing in the video.
“I know there are multiple sides to the story,” said Benjamin. “(The video) left me gravely concerned as to what the possible circumstances might have been, and I shared that with the chief and he acted accordingly.”
Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook, confirmed Monday that Hogg’s video was the same one that his department reviewed, adding that Pugh and the person on the ground both are African- American.
Pugh has no previous record of disciplinary issues during his nearly eight years on the city police force, the chief said. He was promoted to the rank of investigator with the criminal investigations division in 2013 and is assigned to the property crimes unit.
Pugh is also a first sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve with nearly 29 years of military service, Holbrook said.
