Khadijah Caldwell Gaskins
Introduction
Khadijah Caldwell Gaskins is a former sergeant with the Newberry Police Department in Newberry, South Carolina. On Monday, October 5, 2026, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged Gaskins, 30, with Misconduct in Office, Ill Treatment of Animals, and Criminal Conspiracy, according to a SLED announcement published the following day. SLED agents made the arrest, and Gaskins was booked into the Newberry County Detention Center. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. The department she served moved quickly around the investigation: Police Chief Kevin Goodman said Gaskins was placed on administrative leave on September 29, 2026, after he became aware of SLED’s investigation, and that her employment with the agency was terminated after he was notified of her arrest.
Background Information
Publicly documented details about Gaskins are limited to her police service. ABC Columbia identified her as a former Newberry Police Officer, and Chief Kevin Goodman referred to her as “Sgt. Gaskins,” indicating the rank she held with the department. Neither source states when she joined the Newberry Police Department or how long she served, and this page does not speculate.
The charging agency, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, announced the charges through a press release published on October 6, 2026, at 15:04 GMT. That release was brief. It named Gaskins and the three charges, noted her booking, identified the prosecuting office, and stated that “Details can be found in the attached warrants” without reproducing the warrants or summarizing the allegations inside them.
The department’s side of the record comes from Chief Kevin Goodman, who told ABC Columbia: “When I became aware of SLED’s investigation into Sgt. Gaskins for Misconduct in Office, on September 29, 2026, she was immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of their investigation,”.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Criminal case. The claims in this section come from arrest warrants announced by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division on October 6, 2026. A criminal charge is an allegation: Gaskins is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the case has not been adjudicated.
According to SLED’s announcement, agents charged Khadijah Caldwell Gaskins, 30, with Misconduct in Office, Ill Treatment of Animals, and Criminal Conspiracy on Monday, October 5, 2026. Those three counts are the entirety of the public charge disclosure in the release, which stated that “Details can be found in the attached warrants.” The published announcement did not describe the conduct alleged under any count, and no warrant text appears in the sources cited here, so the specific allegations behind each charge are not recounted on this page.
SLED agents arrested Gaskins, and she was booked into the Newberry County Detention Center. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
ABC Columbia’s report, published on October 8, 2026, presented the case from the department’s perspective: “SLED has charged a former Newberry Police Officer with misconduct, according to the Newberry Police Department.” The station reported that SLED agents arrested former officer Khadijah C. Gaskins, accused of misconduct in office, ill treatment of animals, and criminal conspiracy.
The documented timeline: on September 29, 2026, Chief Goodman learned of SLED’s investigation into Gaskins for Misconduct in Office and placed her on administrative leave pending the outcome; on Monday, October 5, 2026, SLED charged her, and Goodman, notified of her arrest, terminated her employment; on October 6, 2026, SLED published its announcement; on October 8, 2026, ABC Columbia reported the case locally.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The clearest documented reaction came from Gaskins’s own department. Chief Kevin Goodman placed Sgt. Gaskins on administrative leave on September 29, 2026, upon learning of SLED’s investigation, pending the outcome, and said he received notification of her arrest on Monday, October 5, after which her employment with the agency was terminated.
Beyond that statement and SLED’s charging announcement, the two reports cited here record no further public reaction. Neither includes comment from the Attorney General’s Office beyond the prosecution assignment, a statement from Gaskins or anyone representing her, or any account of community response. SLED’s release directed media inquiries to its Public Information Office. What is documented is institutional rather than popular: a state charging announcement, a local news report, and a police department that cut ties with the officer within a week of learning of the investigation.
Current Status
As of the most recent report cited here, published on October 8, 2026, Gaskins’s case is pending. She has been charged with Misconduct in Office, Ill Treatment of Animals, and Criminal Conspiracy, and the case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. No court appearances, bond rulings, trial dates, or dispositions appear in the two sources, and the case has not been adjudicated. Her employment with the Newberry Police Department has ended: Chief Kevin Goodman said the notification of her arrest on October 5 was followed by termination. The last custody information in the sources is her booking into the Newberry County Detention Center; neither report states her current custody status. The warrants referenced in SLED’s announcement carry the details of the charges; they are not reproduced in the sources cited here.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The criminal case ended Gaskins’s career with the Newberry Police Department. A sergeant whom Chief Goodman placed on administrative leave on September 29, 2026, when he became aware of the SLED investigation into her for Misconduct in Office, she was terminated after his notification of her arrest on October 5. She now faces three criminal charges — Misconduct in Office, Ill Treatment of Animals, and Criminal Conspiracy — in a case prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. A charge is not a conviction: she is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and nothing in the sources indicates the case has been resolved. Until it is, the documented record consists of the charges, her booking, and the end of her employment with the department.
Sources
- South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (via EIN Presswire), “SLED Charges Former Newberry Police Officer with Misconduct in Office, Ill Treatment of Animals, and Criminal Conspiracy,” October 6, 2026 — source
- ABC Columbia Staff, “SLED charges Newberry Police Officer with misconduct,” October 8, 2026 — source