Updated Friday 11 a.m. — This article has been updated with a video post from Columbus County Sheriff'Bill Rogers.
Britt was charged with simple assault in 2017 following an incident involving a man named Clint Mills. According to court documents obtained by WHQR, Britt had spotted Mills parked outside the Britt family’s house on January 16, 2017. Believing the man to be a robber, Britt, who was off-duty and using his personal vehicle, pursued Mills at high speed for thirteen miles.
Former Sheriff Lewis Hatcher provided an official summary of events. He wrote that after an on-duty officer pulled Mills over, Britt arrived, handcuffed Mills, and put a gun to the back of his head. Then, while Mills lay handcuffed on the tarmac, Britt kicked him in the head.
Below: Internal Affairs report on the incident. Article continues afterward.
19DOJ05371 Internal Affairs statement by Ben Schachtman on Scribd
"It left a golf ball size knot behind my ear," Mills later wrote in a victim statement.
According to an Internal Affairs statement of fact, Highway Patrol issued Mills a citation, and "it was later discovered" that Mills had an outstanding warrant from New Hanover County for assault on a female. CCSO also charged him with speeding and reckless driving to endanger but, according to court records, all of those charges were later dropped.
Britt would go on to resign from the force shortly after the January 2017 incident and pled no contest for simple assault. He paid a $230 fine and went on to work for the Bladen County Sheriff's Office as a deputy. Mills filed a civil suit against the sheriff’s office, whose insurance company paid him $15,000 as part of a settlement, according to court documents.
In 2020, the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission held a hearing to determine whether Britt's justice officer certification ought to be revoked based on his conduct toward Mills.
Britt testified he was scared that Mills had robbed or hurt his family. But Mills said that he had gotten lost on the way to his mother's house, and was trying to look up directions when Britt came home.
Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter recommended that his justice officer certification be denied for at least five years. The commission gave Britt three years’ probation, provided he underwent a psychiatric evaluation and completed any recommended treatment.
During the hearing, Hatcher told the commission that though Britt had had no disciplinary issues prior to the incident, "[Britt] could never again be an employee of his." According to court documents, CCSO's Division of Internal Affairs recommended that Hatcher ask for Britt’s resignation.
Hatcher lost his reelection campaign to Jody Greene in 2018. In 2021, Greene welcomed Britt back to the force. In 2023, Greene resigned to avoid an investigation launched by District Attorney Jon David. A federal investigation is still underway.
The State Bureau of Investigation recently opened an investigation into the use of force by Britt and several other law enforcement officers against Deon Taplin, who led the officers on a high-speed chase through Columbus County on March 17. A video of Taplin's arrest, reviewed by WHQR, showed several officers pushing Taplin to the ground, with one kicking him in the ribs
Several days prior, Britt and two other deputies were filmed in a similar encounter: arresting Thomas Manning for allegedly eluding a traffic stop. Manning told WHQR that he was "slammed into the ground" and punched in the back of the head.
Sheriff Bill Rogers said that CCSO was in "full cooperation" with the investigation into Taplin's arrest. CCSO has not responded to requests for comment about Manning’s arrest. A CCSO spokesperson did confirm Britt's employment history to WHQR; these records indicate it was the same William Donald Britt involved in both the 2017 and more recent events.
Below: After WHQR and WECT published pieces on recent events in Columbus County, Sheriff Bill Rogers posted a video statement on Facebook. He did not answer questions raised in requests for comment from WHQR and WECT. Comments on the video were turned off.
Read more:
- Columbus County Sheriff responds to video of violent arrest in Chadbourn
- Video shows Columbus County deputies making another forceful arrest
