No charges for ex-Myrtle Beach cop accused of taking inappropriate photos of witness
A former Myrtle Beach police officer accused of lifting up a woman’s skirt and taking photos with his cellphone while on duty will not face criminal charges.
This month, Scott Hixson, chief deputy solicitor for the fifteenth judicial circuit, told South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigators that there was insufficient evidence to charge Justin Vasquez.
A SLED investigation found that the Myrtle Beach police department interrogated Vasquez after the incident before firing him, and in doing so, prevented him from being criminally charged.
Vasquez gave investigators consent to search his phone. No inappropriate pictures were found on the phone, although the report states SLED investigators believe the phone was “cleaned” by Vasquez. After searching his phone, investigators with the Myrtle Beach police department gave Vasquez a Garrity warning and interviewed him.
A Garrity warning gives public employees the right to remain silent during an internal investigation without threat of discipline. But if that public agency forces employees to submit to an interview by threat of disciplinary action, the statements cannot be used in any criminal proceedings. The Garrity warning stems from the fifth amendment.
As a result of that interview, Vasquez was terminated, but whatever Vasquez told investigators during this interview can not be used to prosecute him.
“The substance of this compelled statement cannot be used by the prosecution to pursue criminal charges,” Hixson said in his letter to SLED investigators. There was also a lack of evidence found Vasquez’s phone, which was searched by Myrtle police and SLED investigators.
“Despite your diligent efforts, insufficient admissible evidence supporting a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt has been uncovered,” Hixson told SLED.
The lawsuit
Vasquez, a former Myrtle Beach police officer was accused of taking non-consensual photos of a woman who had witnessed a crime, according to a lawsuit filed in Horry County court in February 2021.
The lawsuit lists the city and police department as defendants and details how police responded to a call for domestic dispute in an apartment complex on Hawthorne Lane on July 23, 2020.
Vasquez and a female officer, spoke to a witness who lived in the same apartment complex and witnessed some of the domestic violence. After speaking to the woman, who the lawsuit identifies only by Jane Doe, Vasquez stayed behind.
Vasquez asked whether the woman had surveillance cameras in her apartment, and she replied that she did not. Vasquez then moved around the table where the woman was standing and lifted her dress from behind while taking a photo on his cellphone, the lawsuit states.
The woman moved away from Vasquez and he left the apartment. The female officer returned with a witness form for her to fill out. After filing out the form, Vasquez requested some changes and returned to the apartment where he again lifted the women’s dress and took a picture on his cellphone, according to the court filing.
The woman did not know what to do so she walked to the door and told Vasquez she needed to get ready to go out. The woman locked the door and Vasquez soon returned, ringing the doorbell multiple times, the lawsuit states.
The woman was a victim of sexual assault, physical and psychological injury, the lawsuit said. The woman is suing for an unspecified amount of damages and lawyer fees.
Mark Kruea, the city’s spokesman, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
New details from SLED
In July 2020, SLED, at the request of Myrtle Beach police, started to look into Vasquez’s behavior. They conducted a series of interviews with the woman and other responding officers detailed in a report released in November 2020.
SLED spoke with the victim who stated that during the incident she could see Vasquez hold his cellphone below her dress on multiple occasions. She filed a complaint with Myrtle Beach police shortly after.
The SLED report, which is heavily redacted, also gives a timeline of the incident:
At noon, Vasquez entered the apartment and turned his body-worn camera off four minutes later. At 12:11 p.m. another officer entered the apartment and Vasquez activated his body-worn camera. He was standing in the kitchen area, consistent to where the victim stated the incident took place.
At 12:13 p.m. Vasquez and the other officer both turned their cameras off and talked outside.
At 12:31 p.m., the other officer turned her camera on which shows Vasquez outside of the apartment. At 12:34 p.m. the officer entered the apartment and video shows Vasquez walking out from the kitchen area, placing his cellphone in his pocket. The officer then turned her camera off to speak with Vasquez outside.
Hixson’s letter to SLED ends by saying that if any new evidence comes forward, the solicitor’s office may revisit the case.
This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 10:04 AM.
