Effingham County arrest caught on camera sparks family concerns

RINCON, Ga. (WTOC) - An Effingham County mother is drawing attention to a recent arrest involving her son, claiming deputies acted aggressively despite no resistance.

Tanetta Hampton says Effingham County deputies arrived at her home to arrest her now 25-year-old son, Darmanick Crawford, with a warrant tied to a Savannah Police case involving a recent fight between Crawford and his girlfriend this month.

He was 24 at the time of his arrest.

Hampton says deputies pointed guns at family members, including her pregnant daughter, detained other relatives outside, and threatened to search the home without a warrant.

“The man was pointing a gun at me, and I’m like, ‘you’re gonna shoot me? I’m pregnant.’ And he still insisted on pointing a gun at me,” said Kahlai Hunter, Crawford’s sister. “I came down with my brother, and he opened the door, I think, or it was already open, one of those. But he went towards them outside, and they put him against the window, and the man was pointing a gun at me.”

Kahlai says she and her husband had to remain outside the home for an hour and a half.

Hampton tells WTOC they detained the rest of the family members even after Crawfor was in custody, threatening to search the house. Also, her children were told they could not record on their phones until they were released from custody.

Dispute over ‘runner’ claim

Video from the scene shows deputies announcing “we got a runner” as they approached the home, and before the front door opened.

“I went and looked at the camera footage later after the incident took place, and I saw where an officer, as he approached the house-- before he even got up to my house, he began to say ‘we got a runner’,” said Hampton.

She says there are several discrepancies where her camera did not record. She’s since filed a formal complaint with the sheriffs office.

Hampton said officers could not have seen inside her windows, nor is there a back door visible from outside, but that they did notice the cameras out back, once they opened her back gate.

“How can you see a runner when you can’t see through my windows? There’s no way they could’ve seen anyone,” Hampton said.

Hampton says her son was already near the doorway when it was opened.

“He opened up my front door, swung the door wide open, and at that point, my son Darmanick was standing on the stairwell,” Hampton said.

At the same time, other deputies went around the back of her property.

“One of the officers stated that ‘no one is back here’. ‘No, they didn’t come out,’ and then he proceeded to tell the dog ‘next time’. Now that’s clearly showing the intent in the heart of that officer,” Hampton said.

Family members questioned

After Crawford was taken into custody, family members say deputies continued questioning them about their identities, with guns still drawn. Hampton says her son-in-law was handcuffed and thrown to the ground.

“I was about to come inside because I saw two cop cars coming down the road. I didn’t know what was going on, so I tried to walk back inside. When I was getting ready to walk back inside, they just all surrounded me. Like, I couldn’t go anywhere. And they told me to drop on my stomach, get on my knees, drop to my stomach. And they put me in handcuffs,” said Hampton’s son-in-law, Victor Pulido.

Pulido was confused because he looked nothing like Crawford, but was also detained and placed in cuffs.

“When he brought him (Crawford) outside, he (the officer) put him over there, and he put me right next to him. And he told the other officers to take me out of the handcuffs, because I’m not Darmanick. And since the beginning, I’m pretty sure they had a picture of who Darmanick was, which I don’t look like, so I don’t know why they had to do all that,” continued Pulido.

Hampton says the entire family has since signed up for counseling, and says they’re traumatized by the entire interaction.

Fearful of any future encounter, she’s continuing to push for accountability from the sheriff’s office.

“They continue to keep the gun pointed at her, and they told her if you don’t give me your information, I am going to search the house, that’s illegal,” Hampton said.

The sheriff’s office confirms there is currently no use-of-force investigation underway in this case. Deputies at the sheriff’s office do not have body cams, but do have dash cams.

A request for any possible footage in this case was denied, citing a pending investigation in Crawford’s case.

“This is in response to your April 20, 2026, Open Records Request for records pertaining to body cam footage for an arrested that occurred on 4/9/2026.

In accordance with O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 of the Georgia Open Records Act and based on the information and search terms you provided, your request has been denied.

This denial is made pursuant to the statutory exemptions outlined in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(4), which exempts:

“Records of law enforcement, prosecution, or regulatory agencies in any pending investigation or prosecution of criminal or unlawful activity, other than initial police arrest reports and initial incident reports.”

As the requested records pertain to a pending criminal investigation and/or prosecution, they are not subject to release at this time."

Tonya Hodges, Effingham County Sheriff’s Office

“That was uncalled for. Somebody’s not resisting. Why are you using aggressive force?” Hampton said.

The original warrant was for Aggravated assault, robbery, false imprisonment, and simple battery.

According to a Savannah Police report in the case, “On April 6, 2026, an officer responded to a reported past assault where the victim, said her boyfriend, Darmanick Crawford, choked her multiple times during an argument in a car days earlier.

He also reportedly grabbed a bracelet he got her- off her wrist. The police reports says the woman got out of the car at a red light.

That’s when Crawford’s mother picked her up, and the incident was never brought up, she tells WTOC.

Officers reference text messages in which Crawford partially acknowledged the altercation, and so did the victim. The two went back and forth over who hit who first.

Crawford’s criminal history includes a single arrest for drug-related charges, and a contempt charge for missing court.

Bond will be decided in Crawford’s case in the coming weeks.