COLUMBIA – An altercation involving a state senator, the spouse of the Richland Two school board chair and a person who sources have told The Voice is a Richland Two School Board member, erupted following Tuesday night’s Richland Two school board meeting, according to police records obtained by The Voice.
The skirmish ended with two separate police reports being filed against the subject (the reported school board member).
The incident type is listed as “simple assault” in one report and “all other offenses” in the other. One report states the subject “was threatening to kill” board chair Amelia McKie’s husband.
Names of elected officials and two relatives are redacted in the report, though Sen. Mia McLeod’s name is unredacted in the narrative. McKie, the school board chair, is also identified in the report by her elected post.
In one of the reports, McLeod and her sister are identified as saying they wish to prosecute.
Jay Bender, an attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, said there’s no legitimate reason to redact the names of elected officials in any incident report, especially if they’re involved in an altercation following a school board meeting.
“Taking the names out doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Bender said. “The law is very clear, when you’re involved in a matter of public interest and at a public meeting getting into a fracas, there is no right of privacy.”
Things turned chippy shortly after Tuesday night’s meeting in which the board discussed proposed changes in board policy that would allow for the removal of the chairman, vice-chairman and secretary with cause.
The policy change comes in response to investigative reports by The Voice into board member ethics violations.
In June 2018, the S.C. Ethics Commission fined McKie $41,000 for failing to file several ethics reports. The fine jumped to $51,750 on Dec. 31 when she failed to pay the first $21,000 in fines.
Five other board members have had missing ethics forms as well, according to the ethics commission.
According to the incident report from Tuesday night, McLeod and her sister were leaving Tuesday night’s board meeting after the subject had an altercation with McKie’s spouse.
The subject, the report said, aggressively approached one of the sisters whose name is redacted, while the other (also redacted) moved between them, the report continues.
The subject then pushed one of the sisters and cursed at McLeod and others according to the incident report. There were no injuries, but McLeod said she was in fear for her safety, and security had to restrain the subject, the report stated.
A second report filed by a man who sources say is McKie’s spouse stated that the subject called him several “offensive words” and threatened to kill him. He said in the report that the subject also punched another person.
The altercation continued into the parking lot. When the subject approached McKie’s spouse a second time, she had to be restrained, the report continued.
“[Complainant/Victim] is concerned about the subject possibly approaching him again in a volatile and confrontational manner,” the report states.
The subject couldn’t be reached for comment Friday evening.
In the parking lot after the meeting, The Voice observed two board members waiting near a car, with two security guards standing close by. Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis was present too, though he is not named in any of the police reports obtained by The Voice.
This story will be updated as more information is available.
It is absurd that names were redacted. Great reporting, Michael. Keep up the good work. The police reports must be at the Richland County Sheriff’s Dep’t.; right? Keep the pressure on Sheriff Lott to release unredacted reports. That’s what I get for getting frustrated after an hour in a boring meeting and bailing out early. I missed all the fun.