Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Arrests Pickens Man for Impersonating Law Enforcement Officer

Jason Dwayne Whitlock

(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Pickens man yesterday on a charge of Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer.   

42 year old Jason Dwayne Whitlock, of Edens Road, was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center at around 12:09pm yesterday.  Whitlock was also charged with one count of Driving under Suspension.  Whitlock was given a combined $3,147.50 surety bond and was released from jail today after posting bond.

Deputies from the Uniform Patrol Bureau responded to an address on Bella Vista Lane, near Walhalla, Thursday morning in reference to a call for service involving a suspicious person.  Upon arrival, a Deputy made contact with Whitlock.  Whitlock stated that he was at the location to repossess a vehicle.  The Deputy informed Whitlock that standard procedure for repossessing a vehicle is for dispatch to be informed and an address to be provided, which did not occur in this case.

The Deputy observed the vehicle that Whitlock was in operation of to be a white Ford Explorer with bars on the inside, a pit bar on the front, a spotlight on the driver’s side and a large black dog inside of the vehicle.  The Deputy also discovered during the investigation that Whitlock’s driver’s license was suspended. 

The Deputy also made contact with an adult male and adult female and obtained information from them about the incident.

Based upon evidence obtained during the investigation, Whitlock was arrested and taken to jail.  According to an arrest warrant that was obtained, Whitlock is accused in impersonating a law enforcement officer by stating that he was an enforcement agent, that two other units were on the way and that he was going to take the adult male and female to jail for a stolen tag. 

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. 

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind our citizens on the following information when it comes to interaction with Law Enforcement Officers:

· A Law Enforcement Officer should identify themselves, and their agency affiliation, during any official interaction with the public, unless doing so would place them in a potentially life threatening situation.

· Deputies from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, whose frequent and visible contact with the public is part of their enforcement responsibilities, will wear an official uniform that will contain their name tag, official Sheriff’s Office badge and an official Sheriff’s Office insignia patch on the upper half of both arms.  For other bureau’s, such Criminal Investigations, and for other Deputies who have less frequent contact with the public as part of their official duties, those Deputies will normally wear civilian attire.  However, their badge should visibly be displayed somewhere on their person, unless they are working undercover or in a confidential role.  However, the public is welcome to ask a Sheriff’s Office Deputy to produce their official identification and badge if the badge is not clearly visible. 

· Sheriff’s Office Deputies who have frequent contact with the public will operate an officially marked Sheriff’s Office vehicle.  Deputies from specialized units may operate an unmarked vehicle; however, that vehicle will have blue lights displayed prominently when they are activated.  If you are a motorist, and you observe an unmarked vehicle with blue lights flashing attempt to pull you over inside of Oconee County, you are welcome to contact the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office at 864-638-4111 to see if a Deputy is initiating a traffic stop.  Make sure to notify dispatch, under these circumstances, that you will be pulling into a well-lit area or into the parking lot of a business so the Deputy can then be notified of your intentions.