COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – One man is speaking out after allegedly being assaulted by now-former sheriff’s sergeant Kenneth Smith.
According to Smith’s arrest warrants, he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault inflicting serious injury. The CCSO says he was driving a sheriff’s office truck at the time.
Matthew Duncan says he suffered a broken nose, black eyes and cuts and bruises on his face and body.
WECT obtained exclusive surveillance footage from Duncan of him allegedly being assaulted by Smith.
“A gentleman stepped out who I’d never seen before and got a clue who he was immediately grabbed me by the throat and started beating and slamming me against the front of my truck before I’d even realize what had happened right after I’d been struck by the vehicle,” said Duncan.
Duncan says the attack was completely unprovoked and claims to have never met Smith before.
“I kept asking him who he was. He kept telling me his name. He yelled his name out repeatedly. I kept asking what was going on, stop, let me up. So I was trying to figure out what was going on,” said Duncan.
According to Smith’s arrest warrant, he is accused of using his Dodge Ram truck to pin a man against his car.
Duncan says that’s what you can see happening in the exclusive surveillance video obtained by WECT.
“Immediately I didn’t know whether to protect myself, hide, I mean, I was just confused and didn’t know what to do,” said Duncan.
Duncan believes that law enforcement isn’t doing enough since his alleged attacker is one of their own.
He believes Smith should face more charges like damage to personal property but that’s not listed in the arrest warrant.
“That’s the type of people that’s supposed to be out here protecting and serving,” said Duncan. “And then they just pull something like that and it’s just a slap on the wrist, brushed under the rug. I mean, it just didn’t seem right.”
WECT reached out to Smith who provided the following statement:
“The incident that occurred on Friday was a personal matter handled between two men. I regret that my position at Columbus County Sheriff’s Office has made it gather so much attention. Out of my respect for the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and Law Enforcement as a whole, I resigned. Out of respect for my family, I would decline to make any further comments.”
We also asked Smith if he wanted to respond to the claims that Duncan says he did not know who he was.
He chose not to comment.