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Ware Shoals Assistant Police Chief Michael Polson has been removed from duty after just one year with the department, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The same sources say the abrupt action stems, at least in part, from Polson knowingly hauling a female juvenile into the town’s municipal court on a criminal charge that state law requires officers to route to family court.
Sources further allege Polson was joined in the ill-fated effort by police chief Tommy Clamp, who took the job about a month before Polson arrived, and officer Bruce Gunter, who joined the department less than two months ago.
As for the juvenile at the center of this controversy, sources say she had just turned 17 when she was brought before a municipal judge over her alleged role in a widely publicized brawl at the Ware Shoals Burger King.
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While the charge was reportedly brought by Gunter, sources say Polson approved the incident report and personally presented evidence against her in court. Dead on arrival, the charge was dismissed once the court learned of her age.
Now sidelined in Ware Shoals, Polson had already churned through the Laurens, Greenwood and McCormick county sheriff’s offices in just a few short years. Neither Polson nor Clamp responded to a request for comment, including whether Polson’s removal from duty is paid or unpaid.
Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy Award–winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. He joined FITSNews in 2023 after leaving an NBC affiliate, where he served as on-air talent. His reporting focuses on public corruption in South Carolina, with an emphasis on law enforcement misconduct and abuse of power.
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