Former Newberry Police Sergeant Accused of Multiple Crimes

BROKEN BADGES: Former Newberry Police Sergeant Accused of Crimes Using Police Database for Alleged Dogfighting Associate, says SLED

SLED says Khadijah Gaskins accessed confidential law-enforcement records for a co-defendant — while evidence later allegedly showed injured and dead dogs near her own home

NEWBERRY, S.C. — Another South Carolina law-enforcement officer has landed on the wrong side of the law.

Former Newberry Police Department officer Khadijah Caldwell Gaskins, 30, was arrested October 5 and charged with misconduct in office, ill treatment of animals and criminal conspiracy, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. She was booked into the Newberry County Detention Center, and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case. 2026-10-06 SLED CHARGES FORMER… SLED

But the arrest warrants reveal allegations far more disturbing than the three-line description of charges might suggest.

According to the misconduct warrant included with SLED’s release, investigators allege that on May 29, 2023, while Gaskins was acting in her official capacity as a sworn Newberry police officer, a co-defendant asked her to search department records concerning individuals arrested in connection with a May 17, 2023 dogfight in North Carolina.

SLED alleges Gaskins performed the search and provided the co-defendant with a photograph of the results from the department’s internal system.

Investigators further allege that the co-defendant communicated with Gaskins “in a manner consistent with dogfighting” and that digital evidence indicated she knew about the person’s involvement in dogfighting.

That distinction matters.

The allegation isn’t merely that a police officer associated with the wrong person. SLED alleges she used access provided to her as a police officer to retrieve law-enforcement information for that person.

Then investigators looked at the dogs

A separate warrant describes what investigators say they uncovered from cellular records seized and reviewed during the investigation.

According to the warrant, beginning around March 13, 2024, records allegedly showed pit-bull-type dogs kept on property under conditions SLED says caused unnecessary pain and suffering.

The warrant describes:

• a chained dog allegedly covered in blood with readily apparent wounds;
• a dog with what investigators described as a shredded oral area;
• additional dogs that appeared deceased and exposed to the elements; and
• kennels that investigators say were visible from Gaskins’ residence.

SLED alleges Gaskins took no action to help the suffering animals.

The conspiracy warrant goes further, alleging she knowingly participated in a criminal conspiracy and accepted the level of care provided to the animals, allegedly continuing the cause of their suffering.

These remain allegations. Gaskins is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

She wasn’t just an obscure former officer

CC News Network’s review of publicly available records provides additional context.

Public payroll records list Khadijah Caldwell as a Newberry Police Department corporal in 2023. GovSalaries

And in September 2025 — more than two years after the alleged database search and approximately 18 months after the conduct described in the animal-treatment warrant — Gaskins was publicly recognized by Newberry City Council for five years of service with the department.

Police Chief Kevin Goodman praised her at the ceremony, telling those assembled that Gaskins had a “huge heart for the community, especially for kids.” WKDK

She also had a highly visible community-policing role. In 2024, then-Sgt. Khadijah Gaskins helped organize Newberry’s National Night Out, an event specifically intended to strengthen relationships between police officers and the communities they serve. Newberry Observer

And as recently as February 2026, following a Newberry shooting that injured two women, Chief Goodman directed members of the public with information about the case to Sgt. Khadijah Gaskins of the department’s Criminal Investigations Division. Newberry Observer

That means the officer SLED now accuses of improperly accessing law-enforcement information for someone associated with dogfighting subsequently held a position investigating other people’s alleged crimes.

Another court case raises additional questions

CC News Network also found Gaskins named as a defendant in a federal civil-rights lawsuit filed against Newberry law-enforcement officials.

In Mills v. Wise et al., Gaskins — identified in the federal docket as PTM Khadijah Caldwell — is among defendants that include Newberry Police Chief Kevin Goodman, the City of Newberry and the Newberry Police Department.

The case was removed to the U.S. District Court for South Carolina in January 2026. The docket shows Gaskins and other Newberry defendants filed an answer, and the litigation remained active into the summer. The existence of the lawsuit does not establish wrongdoing by Gaskins, and it is separate from the SLED criminal case. Justia Dockets & Filings

Still, it adds another piece to a career now facing scrutiny.

The question Newberry should answer

SLED’s warrants describe alleged misconduct dating to May 2023 and animal-related conduct beginning in March 2024.

Yet public records show Gaskins continued serving the department afterward, received public recognition in 2025 and was working as a sergeant in Criminal Investigations as recently as February 2026.

That leaves several important unanswered questions:

When did the Newberry Police Department first learn Gaskins was under investigation?

Was an internal investigation conducted?

When was she placed on administrative leave or removed from duty?

When did her employment actually end?

Was her access to department databases audited after investigators discovered the alleged 2023 search?

And perhaps most importantly: Did investigators review other searches Gaskins performed using Newberry Police Department databases to determine whether this was an isolated incident?

Those questions matter because law-enforcement databases contain information ordinary citizens cannot access. Officers receive that access because the public entrusts them to use it for legitimate law-enforcement purposes.

When SLED alleges that an officer instead used that access to assist someone she knew was involved in dogfighting, the story becomes about more than one officer.

It becomes a question of who was watching the badge.

BROKEN BADGES

CC News Network’s Broken Badges series examines allegations of criminal conduct, misconduct and abuse of public trust involving law-enforcement officers across South Carolina.

Gaskins’ case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. SLED

CC News Network will continue following the case.

About the Author

James Seidel

Administrator

About the CC News Network James Seidel: Publisher, Award Winning Journalist, Author. Investigator, Podcaster, Talk Show Host, and Music Producer. The CC News Network is a distinguished media company in the world of South Carolina News, Weather, Sports and True Crime. At the beginning, James Seidel was only known as Crime and Cask and well known for his relentless pursuit of truth and justice in the Alex Murdaugh trial. As a journalist, author, investigator, radio talk show host, and record producer he has made significant contributions to uncovering some of the most complex and high-profile criminal cases of our time.

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