Hampton Police Chief charged with assault and battery by SLED

HAMPTON, S.C. (WSAV)—After admitting to trying to cut a tree down while a man was in it, the Hampton Police Chief has been charged by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) on Thursday.

Police Chief Perry Zachary McAlhaney, 61, has been charged with assault and 3rd degree battery and was booked into the Hampton County Detention Center.

On Nov. 4, 2023, McAlhaney arrived at a property where a man was hunting from a deer stand. The man had paid the property owner $500 for a hunting lease, which the owner has confirmed to SLED.

McAlhaney accused the man of trespassing and returned to his home to get a chainsaw in an attempt to cut down the tree that the man was in, which McAlhaney admitted to SLED. The man recorded the incident and McAlhaney was not successful in his attempt.

WSAV will continue to update.