Video shows officer ignoring deputy

Video from a Christmas Eve traffic stop shows an off-duty North Charleston police officer ignore a deputy sheriff's order to put her hands behind her back before he slings her to the pavement.

The Dorchester County Sheriff's Office on Friday reversed course and released video of a pursuit and traffic stop in Summerville involving Officer Christine Phinney, 41. The Sheriff's Office initially withheld the tape, citing concerns that its release would prejudice her pending court proceedings on charges of reckless driving and disorderly conduct.

The Sheriff's Office changed its stance following arguments by The Post and Courier and others that the state Freedom of Information Act required the tape's immediate release.

Sheriff's Maj. John Garrison said two supervisors met Friday with 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who said he saw no reason to keep the tape from the public.

The dashboard video, like one released earlier in the week by Summerville police, shows officers trying to catch up to a black BMW that Phinney was driving along Central Avenue.

Police said she was traveling 65 mph in a 40 mph zone and crossing the median to pass cars in her way. She stopped at one point during the pursuit, then quickly drove off again, finally pulling over on Hawthorne Avenue.

The Summerville officer's camera was blocked by the deputy's car and did not capture video of a confrontation in which Phinney scuffled with a sheriff's deputy. The deputy's camera captures that confrontation in full, which is why the newspaper requested its release.

The tape shows Phinney hanging her wallet and badge out of the car's window as officers approach the vehicle. She then questions why she was pulled over and argues that she didn't know officers were trying to stop her.

When Deputy Mike Files walks away to check her license, Phinney climbs out of the BMW and gestures at officers as she talks into a cell phone. Files yells for her to get back in the car. She responds by telling him to shut up.

Files tells her to get in the car or he will take her to jail. "For what?" she shouts at him.

Files tells her to place her hands behind her back. Phinney turns, responds with a profanity and tries to get back into the car, which appears to still be running.

Files grabs her by the arm and yanks her from the vehicle, sending her face-first into the pavement. He and a Summerville police officer then place her in handcuffs, while it appears she continues to struggle.

After she is led to the cruiser, Phinney asks Files whether he knows that her husband is Lt. Tony Phinney, a supervisor at the Sheriff's Office.

"I don't care who your husband is," Files replies.

Phinney goes on to tell Files that she would give a fellow officer a free pass for speeding, and that the deputy would "have a much bigger problem" when her husband arrived. Tony Phinney reportedly came to the scene that night, but he is not seen on the tape, authorities said.

On the tape, Files stated that he was arresting her for resisting arrest and questioned how much she had had to drink. The resisting charge was never filed, and Phinney's blood-alcohol level wasn't tested.

Officials have said that final charges are at an officer's discretion and that deputies may have decided later that a resisting count wasn't warranted. As for her possible drinking, deputies need probable cause to file a charge before conducting a Breathalyzer test, and Phinney did not show signs of impairment, Garrison said.

Officials have insisted the incident was handled by the book and that Tony Phinney's position had no bearing on the case.

Neither tape documents the discussions involving how she should be charged or shows her release from custody that night without a trip to jail. Her supervisors in North Charleston were notified and they went to the scene that night.

They also retrieved her badges, cruiser and duty pistol, a police report states.

The incident was not the only time police have been called to the White Gables neighborhood regarding Phinney. A neighbor called Summerville police in October to report a "loud verbal discussion" between Phinney and her stepchildren in which Phinney was throwing their clothes on the front lawn.

Phinney would not come to the door for police, and no action was taken, a police report states.

Phinney remains on administrative office duty, and North Charleston police said they will withhold punishment while the charges are pending.

Phinney and her husband have declined to comment. Her lawyer, Robby Robbins, could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.