Two small police departments in eastern South Carolina each had an officer involved shooting within the last week.
One in a place called Eutawville, (Orangeburg County), with a population of 500, and another in Cottageville, (Colleton County), which has a population of approximately 800.
With small towns come small town budgets.That being said, it's obvious that salaries for public officials such as police officers, aren't very attractive. Most police officers would opt for a mid-size to larger department for both the salary and benefits they offer. Rural areas such as these don't have the financial capabilities to send a police officer to the academy for their state accreditation. Instead, they generally attract the less than desirable certified officers and on rare occasions, retired officers who are seeking to supplement their pensions. Most retirees have had enough politics and opt for other, less stressful places.
The term "Gypsy" is defined as a nomad or roamer. When a police officer roams from one department to another, staying at these departments for 2 years or less, a potential employer really should do their homework.
At one time, employers were reluctant to reveal anything negative about the employment of a former employee for fear of litigation. That included police officers. Some years ago, a local Charleston, SC newspaper wrote an expose on this gypsy police problem that was titled, "Tarnished Badges."
It exposed how many problem police officers were continuously hired by one department after another because they couldn't get necessary knowledge about an officer's previous work history. As a direct result of that article, the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy supposedly made some changes so that information must be shared between departments. The Academy can, in their discretion, actually revoke the officer's certification thereby preventing that officer from ever working as a police officer in the state. However, the system can't work properly if appropriate actions aren't taken when the symptoms start presenting themselves. It would appear that the information was passed on to the appropriate people at the Academy, but no one thought to give that envelope another push.
In the Cottageville incident, the officer involved in this shooting has quite a work history. This officer asserts that he was the 'poster child' for pissing off politicians. Take note of the information the reporter was able to obtain on Officer Price's work history. Make your own conclusion. Now, let's take in to consideration the moron he shot and killed. He was the former mayor of that small town and he had his own checkered past. Former Mayor Bert Reeves was the quintessential small town, arrogant, back woods, laughable politician. His driving habits left a trail and once again, you can make your own conclusions. Let's just say Reeves didn't have a real big fan base.
In the Eutawville incident, there are a great many questions that need answering. Just the information gleaned from this newspaper article alone is enough to make you say, WHAT THE FUCK?! You really have to ask yourself why the town's one police officer, the Police Chief, is the 4th cop this little town has hired in the last year. The Chief shot and killed a former corrections officer outside of town hall. An Orangeburg county Deputy Sheriff was dispatched upon request from the Police Chief. The Deputy's incident report was a total farce. I question whether that Deputy had a supervisor or if that was just some small town ploy used to bypass the FOI request made by the local media.
As with all police officer involved shootings, the SC State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) does the investigation and then takes whatever actions may be necessary. They appear to be a bit busy this week.
I am puzzled by the ONE major factor that is missing from both these incidents. All the facts aren't in yet so I won't make any assumptions.
In fact, this latest update now combines these two stories in a similar fashion.
One in a place called Eutawville, (Orangeburg County), with a population of 500, and another in Cottageville, (Colleton County), which has a population of approximately 800.
With small towns come small town budgets.That being said, it's obvious that salaries for public officials such as police officers, aren't very attractive. Most police officers would opt for a mid-size to larger department for both the salary and benefits they offer. Rural areas such as these don't have the financial capabilities to send a police officer to the academy for their state accreditation. Instead, they generally attract the less than desirable certified officers and on rare occasions, retired officers who are seeking to supplement their pensions. Most retirees have had enough politics and opt for other, less stressful places.
The term "Gypsy" is defined as a nomad or roamer. When a police officer roams from one department to another, staying at these departments for 2 years or less, a potential employer really should do their homework.
At one time, employers were reluctant to reveal anything negative about the employment of a former employee for fear of litigation. That included police officers. Some years ago, a local Charleston, SC newspaper wrote an expose on this gypsy police problem that was titled, "Tarnished Badges."
It exposed how many problem police officers were continuously hired by one department after another because they couldn't get necessary knowledge about an officer's previous work history. As a direct result of that article, the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy supposedly made some changes so that information must be shared between departments. The Academy can, in their discretion, actually revoke the officer's certification thereby preventing that officer from ever working as a police officer in the state. However, the system can't work properly if appropriate actions aren't taken when the symptoms start presenting themselves. It would appear that the information was passed on to the appropriate people at the Academy, but no one thought to give that envelope another push.
In the Cottageville incident, the officer involved in this shooting has quite a work history. This officer asserts that he was the 'poster child' for pissing off politicians. Take note of the information the reporter was able to obtain on Officer Price's work history. Make your own conclusion. Now, let's take in to consideration the moron he shot and killed. He was the former mayor of that small town and he had his own checkered past. Former Mayor Bert Reeves was the quintessential small town, arrogant, back woods, laughable politician. His driving habits left a trail and once again, you can make your own conclusions. Let's just say Reeves didn't have a real big fan base.
In the Eutawville incident, there are a great many questions that need answering. Just the information gleaned from this newspaper article alone is enough to make you say, WHAT THE FUCK?! You really have to ask yourself why the town's one police officer, the Police Chief, is the 4th cop this little town has hired in the last year. The Chief shot and killed a former corrections officer outside of town hall. An Orangeburg county Deputy Sheriff was dispatched upon request from the Police Chief. The Deputy's incident report was a total farce. I question whether that Deputy had a supervisor or if that was just some small town ploy used to bypass the FOI request made by the local media.
As with all police officer involved shootings, the SC State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) does the investigation and then takes whatever actions may be necessary. They appear to be a bit busy this week.
I am puzzled by the ONE major factor that is missing from both these incidents. All the facts aren't in yet so I won't make any assumptions.
In fact, this latest update now combines these two stories in a similar fashion.
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