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by ANDY FANCHER
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An Upstate South Carolina police officer has resigned amid a state investigation into allegations of excessive force involving multiple officers from multiple departments, according to a spokesperson with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
That officer, identified as J. Ross Richey, submitted his resignation (.pdf) to the Anderson Police Department on October 23, 2025. The 38-year-old had served just over two years with the force, which FITSNews has repeatedly scrutinized for unrelated personnel issues.
While those operational problems provide potentially relevant context, SLED’s inquiry into “allegations of excessive force” does not appear to involve the city’s police department, even though Richey was working there when he stepped down.
Instead, SLED says the investigation focuses on an April 2020 incident involving “officers” from the neighboring Belton and Honea Path police departments. According to state records, Richey was about nine months into his tenure with Belton when the incident occurred.
He would remain with Belton and become the city’s police chief in July 2021, stepping down two years later amid criticism over officer response times. He joined the Anderson police one week later.
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Within Anderson, Belton’s former chief appears to have served as a school resource officer before transferring to the investigations division, where his tenure abruptly ended last month.
As for why his name is now associated with a state investigation, SLED said first-term solicitor Micah Black of the 10th Judicial Circuit requested the inquiry on September 30, 2025 — more than five years after the alleged excessive-force encounter.
“SLED’s investigation is active and ongoing,” spokesperson Renée Wunderlich told FITSNews in a text message. “More information may be available in the future as the case continues.”
Black, who took office earlier this year, has already drawn criticism from Upstate law enforcement officers after choosing not to prosecute former Spartanburg County sheriff Chuck Wright, who has since pleaded guilty to three federal felonies.
In addition, the freshman solicitor – who campaigned on “working shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement” – has refused to answer any emails from FITSNews (.pdf) regarding Wright’s case, including questions about his public description of what Wright actually admitted to in federal court.
Those questions echo ones being raised within the very law-enforcement community he claims to serve.
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In keeping with that silence, neither Black nor his office acknowledged a separate email this week about the excessive-force investigation his office requested.
The same cannot be said for Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart, who responded within hours of our email on Thursday, albeit only to decline comment.
“It is the policy of the City of Anderson not to comment on personnel issues,” he wrote.
Since early 2024, at least four Anderson police officers have been arrested on criminal charges, including assault and battery, misconduct in office, pointing and presenting a firearm and driving under the influence.
Count on FITSNews to keep our audience apprised of the state’s probe into allegations of excessive force involving the Belton and Honea Path police departments, regardless of how forthcoming some officials choose to be.
Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
(Dynal Nolan/FITSNews)
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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2 comments
Jim Stewart is a clown, not that Anderson was ever a great PD but he has driven it so far down it’s ludicrous. They are extremely unprofessional and most of his officers are clowns who couldn’t make it at other agencies much like the subject of the article.
Alexander chance partain was murdered on November 29, 2016 in iva south Carolina which is in Anderson County. While they r probing regarding excessive force y don’t they do a probe into all the officer involved murders in Anderson County. Not officer involved shootings…yes I said murders