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Mecklenburg County detention officer arrested, accused of pistol-whipping teen

CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden has fired Detention Officer Jaquan Raheim Kitt, 36, Friday after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, misdemeanor assault on a female, and two counts of misdemeanor communication of threats.

The Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation earlier in the week after Kitt was arrested and charged on Wednesday by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

However, the magistrate found no probable cause on all charges and Kitt was released.

On Friday, the sheriff’s office said Kitt was arrested for a second time.

According to the police report for the incident on Wednesday, Kitt allegedly made verbal threats and assaulted a 16-year-old girl. The report also said the officer allegedly made verbal threats to a 17-year-old boy, and also allegedly assaulted him by, “striking him in the head multiple times with the butt of his gun resulting in minor injury.”

The alleged assaults happened along High Glen Drive at the Northlake apartments off West W.T. Harris Boulevard in northwest Charlotte.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers responded to the incident, arrested the detention officer and took him to the Mecklenburg County jail to process him and charge him, authorities said.

The magistrate found no probable cause on all charges and Kitt was released after his arrest on Wednesday.

“I was made aware of the supporting facts regarding this incident, and we have initiated an internal investigation,” McFadden said in a statement after Kitt’s release. “I was surprised by the alleged actions of Mr. Kitt and the magistrate’s decision. We will work with the District Attorney’s office and if there is evidence to support that Mr. Kitt’s) conduct during this incident has violated our policies or if it’s later determined that probable cause does exist and criminal charges are filed against Mr. Kitt, we will take the appropriate action at that time.”

However, the sheriff arrested Kitt again Friday after CMPD presented additional information. The Magistrates’ Office issued four more misdemeanor warrants after deciding there was probable cause.

After the arrest warrants were issued Friday, McFadden said in a news release, “Mr. Kitt’s actions are not a representation of this agency and certainly not what we expect of any employee of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. After reviewing the reports, I was really disappointed in the actions of Mr. Kitt. As a public safety organization, MCSO requires all employees to demonstrate professional and ethical conduct both on and off-duty and we will continue to hold our staff accountable for their actions.”

Kitt had worked for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office since May 25, 2016.

“It is our duty to seek appropriate justice in all cases, and we felt this case needed to be revisited to ensure that our victim received appropriate service from our agency,” said CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings.

(WATCH BELOW: Juvenile detention center to close in December as part of Meck County budget)