A former police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina, who beat a black man in custody, allegedly had a Nazi-inspired flashlight in his patrol cruiser.

Leroy Walter Hair Jr. was terminated from the North Charleston Police Department for beating handcuffed James Terry III during an arrest on November 15, 2016. According to the Post and Courier, Terry was pulled over for speeding in a 35 mph zone. He was arrested, and Hair began to assault Terry while in back of the police cruiser. Reports claim Terry was resisting arrest, but the video tells another story.

“They were trying to hang everything on him,” Edward Phipps said of his client. “He was made a patsy.”

The police issued flashlight with the term "The Wig Splitter" and "SS" etched into the body was discovered a few weeks later on December 2 following an internal investigation.

Hair was an officer serving in the same department as Michael Slager, the former officer charged for killing Walter Scott in a routine traffic stop.

Phipps believes Hair was a scapegoat used by city officials to repair the damage between the city and black residents stemming from the 2015 shooting of Scott, according to Live 5 News.

The flashlight in question was found during a search of Hair's patrol cruiser. Caroline Cleveland, the city's attorney, claims the flashlight was handed over to investigators despite the possible public uproar.

“We didn’t try to hide it,” Cleveland told the newspaper. “We don’t condone it. It’s contradictory to the mission we’re trying to achieve.”

Evidence aside, Hair's attorneys believe there is a cover-up at play, and another officer vandalized the flashlight with white supremacist and Nazi runes. “The Wig Splitter did not belong to Hair and was not assigned to his cruiser,” the lawsuit states. “The very existence of the Wig Splitter corroborates the inherent truth of the negative public image and media coverage of the City and NCPD, regarding its racial discrimination and excessive use of force.”

Now, check these out:

Kanye West To Meet With His Gemini Ally Donald Trump, Again

This Voting PSA Would Make Aretha Franklin Proud

Black Man Acquitted After Killing White Man During Encounter Full Of 'Ugly Racism'

Search Results for: Mac Phipps