PC Sheriff returns Deputy involved in Shooting to Active Duty following Review

Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark has returned Deputy Michael McClatchy to full active duty effective immediately following his review of the agency’s internal investigation. The investigation stems from the officer involved shooting that occurred at an address on Latham Road in Easley on Sunday, June 26, 2016. Deputy McClatchy had been placed on administrative leave with pay after he fired his service weapon in the line of duty striking a burglary suspect identified as 18-year-old Franklin Reed Styles. Styles suffered one gunshot wound and is currently admitted to a local hospital. Upon his release, he will be transported to the Pickens County Detention Center where he will be detained on multiple charges including burglary in the first-degree as well as pointing and presenting a firearm. The Office of Professional Standards, which is the agency’s internal affairs unit, was directed by Sheriff Clark to investigate the incident independent of the criminal investigation that is still being conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Sheriff Clark reviewed the internal findings on Tuesday, June 28 and issued his directive to return Deputy McClatchy to full active status with no restrictions. Sheriff Clark said, “Our agency has reviewed the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident involving the use of deadly force and I concur with the findings that Deputy Mike McClatchy was justified and within policy in his decision to discharge his service weapon for the protection of his own life. Furthermore, the Deputy should be commended for he made the decision to enter the residence without backup knowing that an intruder was inside. He made this decision out of concern for the safety of the female homeowner that was hiding in a nearby bathroom as the suspect was retrieving multiple weapons from a gunsafe in close proximity to the bathroom. Deputy McClatchy’s quick response and decisions under extreme pressure may very well have saved an innocent victim’s life.”