A former Lexington Police officer is accused of obtaining firearm suppressors for personal use under the guise that they were purchased for the department.

According to arrest warrants provided by the state Law Enforcement Division, James Edward Chambers Jr., 30 of Lexington, purchased seven total silencers between March and September 2021 from Lexington’s Kilo Charley Weaponry and Travelers Rest’s Rugged Design, falsely representing himself as acquiring the equipment on behalf of Lexington Police and telling one of the businesses the suppressors were for the Lexington Police SWAT unit for testing.

The warrants note that Chambers used false letterheads to represent himself as purchasing the items for the department.

Because of this deception, arrest warrants state, Chambers “was able to acquire the suppressors without obtaining the required federal tax stamp for each suppressor and without having to comply with other federal regulations pertaining to individuals purchasing and possessing firearm suppressors.”

Warrants note that Chambers saved himself $1,400 in taxes by misrepresenting the purchases.

According to a statement issued by Lexington Police, Chambers was a member of the department from May 2019 to January 2022.

“He was terminated from the department for misconduct due to lying during an internal investigation over department-issued equipment,” the department said, noting that the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy was informed Jan. 5 that Chambers was no longer affiliated with Lexington Police.

“After the termination of James Chambers, the Lexington Police Department was made aware that he had made several purchases of firearms equipment under the guise of department use while employed by our agency. Chief Terrence Green requested an outside agency to investigate the allegations, and the state Law Enforcement Division took over the investigation.”

Chambers was arrested March 15 and charged with official misconduct and two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses. He was booked at the Lexington County Detention Center.