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Wow, two thugs with badges fired in one week. That might be a record.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina state trooper who arrested NFL defensive lineman Sam Montgomery at a traffic stop last June has been fired, state officials said Friday.
The Department of Public Safety said in a news release that Lance Cpl. R.S. Salter was terminated for violating agency policies including conduct unbecoming a state employee. Salter stopped Montgomery in June when the Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman was returning to his home in Greenwood.
Montgomery was arrested and spent a night in jail after Salter clocked him going 89 mph in a 55 mph zone. But the trooper's dashboard camera obtained soon after by The Associated Press also captured the officer threatening to use a Taser because the 6-foot-3, 262-pound lineman was struggling to understand his commands.
"The next thing you're going to get is the Taser," Salter was heard to say on the tape.
"Whoa," Montgomery responded, "I'm not trying to cause problems."
Salter was suspended soon after the stop while the agency investigated. The department's Office of Professional Responsibility found Salter's behavior was unprofessional and comments to Montgomery during the arrest were inappropriate, according to a release sent by agency communications director Sherri Iacobelli.
Trooper who arrested NFL s Sam Montgomery fired Pro32 Head to Head