Anderson police captain demoted after investigation found he violated department policy

A top Anderson Police Department officer has returned to duty but has been demoted from captain to lieutenant after an internal investigation that included a sexually explicit text message.

Mike Aikens returned to work last week, police chief Jim Stewart said Wednesday.

Aikens had been on paid administrative leave since April. He was the subject of a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigation that led to no criminal charges being filed.

More:SLED investigation of Anderson police captain closed; Aikens not criminally charged

The police department did an internal investigation and found that Aikens violated general conduct for officers, which apply even more for a captain, according to a two-page memo from Stewart to Aikens, which the Independent Mail obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The memo says Aikens was sent "an inappropriate text message" by a subordinate officer, including explicit photos of her and that Aikens should have reported those messages to his supervisors.

The memo says Aikens had not wanted to harm the career of the subordinate but that he should have reported it.

The other officer, who is no longer with the city, is identified in the memo. The Independent Mail is not identifying her because she was not the subject of the investigations.

The memo says returning Aikens to his former rank could harm morale and potentially affect recruiting and retention for a department that has 16 vacancies and 94 filled positions.

"To allow one person to re-enter without some sort of disciplinary action could affect the running of this well-oiled machine," Stewart wrote in the memo.

Aikens did not respond to a request for comment made through the police department or to a message left on a phone he has used.

Stewart declined to talk about the discipline beyond what he wrote in the letter, which is signed by both him and Aikens.

Aikens will retain his former salary and will be in a one-year evaluation period.

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Mike Ellis lives in Powdersville and tells South Carolina stories with a focus on Anderson County and Pickens County along with faith and investigations. He's always looking for the next story that people need to read, please send any tips or feedback to mellis@gannett.com