S.C. cop suspended after video of punching surfaces

Jasmine Styles | WLTX-TV, Columbia (S.C.)

Show Caption Hide Caption Officer caught on camera punching man in face A South Carolina police officer is on unpaid leave after video surfaced of him punching a man on the ground.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Columbia police on Monday released the name of an officer who was suspended after a video that appears to show him striking an individual multiple times surfaced on social media.

Tyrone Pugh has been suspended without pay pending completion of an internal investigation and a separate probe conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Officials said around 2 a.m. Sunday, five off-duty police officers were in the parking lot of Sound Stage, a nightclub, when a fight broke out among a group of people standing outside the building. Officers tried to control the crowd.

A video taken by an onlooker captured a portion of what happened next. In the clip, an officer can be seek striking a man who was lying on the ground several times.

One of the onlookers can be heard asking, ""Why are you punching him?" The officer responds, "Back the (expletive) up."

The video began circulating on social media in the hours after the incident. After reviewing the video, police began their internal investigation of the circumstances leading up to the event.

Police say Pugh, an investigator and Army sergeant, has had no disciplinary action taken against him since he was hired by the city police department in 2007. It's unclear how long the investigation could take.