The incident, which occurred after a traffic stop in July, was captured on videotape from dashboard cameras mounted in two patrol cars.

Former Lance Cpl. Chad A. Williams, 28, of Orangeburg, was booked into the county detention center after being charged with two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Both counts carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He was released on a $25,000 personal recognizance bond.

Williams resigned Friday after seven years on the job.

According to a sworn statement by State Law Enforcement Division agent Matt Ford, on July 20 at about 1 a.m., Williams stopped a 1991 Chevrolet on U.S. Highway 301 in Orangeburg County. Travis Jermaine Johnson of Orangeburg drove the car and carried two passengers.

At the roadside, Williams told Johnson to come to the rear of the vehicle while his backup, Trooper R.V. Giddens, arrived at the scene.

According to the report, Williams then asked one of the passengers to exit the car. When he did, the passenger, who is still unidentified, ran into the woods after dropping what appeared to be cocaine on the ground.

Williams gave chase while the other trooper handcuffed the driver and remaining passenger.

Unable to catch the suspect, Williams returned and, according to the arrest affidavit, hit Johnson in the chest with his forearm.

Williams then turned and struck the unidentified passenger with his fist and slapped him several times in the face. He then grabbed the man by his hair and lifted him up.

After the alleged attack, Williams released the men from their restraints and issued Johnson a traffic warning for speeding. No drug charges were filed after what appeared to be three rocks of crack cocaine were found on the ground outside the car, said 1st Circuit Solicitor Walter Bailey.

Bailey said Tuesday he would not classify the beating as severe.

"The thing that made it more than simple assault and battery is the fact that they were handcuffed," he said. Efforts are under way to identify the other two subjects, whose names were not recorded at the scene.

No charges are being contemplated against Giddens, Bailey added. "He didn't participate at all," Bailey said. Giddens, a three-year patrol veteran, has been suspended indefinitely without pay since Aug. 1.

State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart said he expected the case to be investigated by federal authorities for possible civil rights violations and other federal charges. The two troopers are white, and the two alleged beating victims are black.

Bailey said no racial motivation is immediately apparent on the one tape he saw of the exchange, which he described as having good audio quality. The arrest affidavit says Williams acted with "the purposeful infliction of shame and disgrace."

Attempts to reach Johnson of Orangeburg were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Sid Gaulden said the department would have no comment until the legal case is complete.

Williams was in the spotlight July 4 when he was struck in the right shoulder by a bolt of lightning while responding to a traffic accident on Interstate 95. He was not injured seriously and returned to work shortly after the strike.

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