HAMPTON, S.C. — A South Carolina police chief is facing charges after authorities say he used a chainsaw to get a man out of a tree during a dispute.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced on Thursday that they had charged 61-year-old Perry Zachary McAlhaney with third-degree assault and battery for an incident that occurred in November 2023 while he was the police chief in Hampton.
An arrest warrant states that a dispute between McAlhaney and another suspect in Varnville led to the charge. Investigators said the victim was hunting in a deer stand located in a tree. The warrant states that the victim had permission and paid about $500 to the property owner to get access to the property. However, investigators said Mcalhaney came to the scene and accused the victim of trespassing.
According to the warrant, "McAlhaney retrieved a chainsaw and began cutting the tree that contained the victim." The victim recorded the incident on his phone as the incident unfolded and provided the video to SLED. McAlhaney later provided a statement to SLED agents, admitting that he had attempted to cut the tree down. The warrant said that, in doing so, he was attempting to injure the victim and had the "present ability to do so."