Former officer victim of thieves

A former Gaffney Police Department officer found himself in a reverse position last week, this time as a victim.

A storage locker on Floyd Baker Boulevard being rented by former Sgt. Scott Tallent, 41, of Gaffney, was broken into sometime between 5 p.m. on May 12 and 9 a.m. on May 13, according to a report at the Gaffney Police Department. An unknown person cut the lock on the storage unit and went through all of the boxes inside. Among the items that were determined to be missing are five antique cameras valued at about $2,000, as well as a gas mask and a gun case that belongs to the City of Gaffney. Those two items are valued at $200 each.

Tallent told police there may be additional items missing, but he could not tell due to the state of disarray in the locker. Gaffney Police Chief John O'Donald said the gas masks given to Gaffney Police officers were provided by the state. He said Tallent turned in all of his other police equipment when he retired from the force several weeks ago.

Tallent was indicted by a grand jury Thursday, May 15 on a misdemeanor charge of misconduct in office related to a Dec. 16, 2007 incident at Benna's Sports Club. Tallent arrested three men that night on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges. Almost immediately after the incident, though, complaints arose about the officer's use of force.

SLED was called in to investigate, leading to the indictment and all charges being dropped against the three men arrested by Tallent.