Deputy charged with assault sworn in to another sheriff’s office

COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - A former Bladen County Sheriff’s deputy who resigned after an alleged assault is now sworn in and working for the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office as an auxiliary deputy.

Michael Hal Shaw II is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. The charge stems from a high-speed chase where Shaw allegedly hit the man he was arresting with a flashlight.

Shaw was sworn in this week, just shy of a year from when he resigned from his position with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office.

Eddie Caldwell, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, said that because Shaw only has a pending charge and the case is ongoing, he is still able to hold a position with a law enforcement agency.

“Once the criminal charges are disposed of, if an officer is found not guilty, then the Standards Commission still may look at it. If they’re found guilty, then the Standards Commission will definitely look at it and see if what they were convicted of is grounds for their certification to be suspended or revoked or not. And then make a decision on whether that person would remain certified as a law enforcement officer in North Carolina and could continue to work or whether their certification would be suspended or revoked, and they could not continue to serve as a law enforcement officer.”

WECT reached out to the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, but did not hear back.

Shaw’s case will appear on a case management calendar in December.

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