A Clarendon County Sheriff's deputy was injured Wednesday at Westwood Apartments during what authorities otherwise called a routine drug arrest.
Sgt. Matt Stone is recovering, said Capt. Sean Briley, after being treated at Clarendon Memorial Hospital for a cut to his face.
"He has a laceration to his forehead, but I think the hospital was able to glue it shut," Briley said.
Briley said he and Stone reported to Westwood Apartments about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday due to a complaint of four men loitering in the parking lot.
"Dispatch alerted us that they weren't supposed to be there," Briley said. "Upon our arrival, we saw the four men, and one of them took a bag of suspected marijuana out of his pants and stuck it his mouth and started running."
Stone and Briley chased the suspect, who then allegedly hit Stone in the face.
"We did not have to use a TASER on the suspect," Briley said.
Sheriff Randy Garrett said he's glad the situation wasn't "much worse."
"Deputy Stone used only the force necessary to take the suspect into custody," Garrett said. "I'm glad that he will be OK and that this situation did turn out worse than it did."
Briley said the suspect - whose name manninglive.com will have shortly - will likely be charged with destruction of evidence and resisting arrest with assault on an officer.
