Williamston officer charged with criminal domestic violence


By MIKE ELLIS

WILLIAMSTON --- A Williamston police officer was fired this week after being charged with criminal domestic violence for the second time in five weeks, Williamston Police Chief Tony Taylor confirmed.
Christopher Shaw Whitfield, 31, was charged March 11 with criminal domestic violence after an alleged fight with his wife over a cellphone. That charge was dropped March 28.
He was charged again this week with a separate incident of criminal domestic violence after allegedly threatening to shoot his wife in the couple's home Wednesday, according to a warrant.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was asked to investigate the second accusation at the request of the Williamston Police Department, Taylor said.
Whitfield remains at the Anderson County Detention Center and a bond has not been set for his release.
He will be prosecuted by the 10th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Before working at the Williamston department, Whitfield was a deputy with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office from 2005 until September 2012 except for four months in 2007.