Feds Dragging their Feet

Does the title of this story come as a surprise to you? It's what the feds do best.

Let's revisit previous blog entries concerning these small, sleepy little towns known as
Cottageville, SC and Eutawville, SC

From newest to oldest, the blog entries I refer to are;

Cottageville Officer Officially Terminated
Another Plot Twist
Another Officer Involved Shooting Going to the Feds
Officer Involved Shooting Brings Feds
Gypsy Cops and Small Town Politics


Around the middle of last year they both experienced officer involved shootings perpetrated by officers known as "gypsy cops."
The definition of a "gypsy cop" is basically an itinerant law officer who floats from one department to another, usually after short terms of employment. The officer's employment history is sometimes peppered with accusations and complaints that probably resulted in a 'resignation' or a termination that didn't warrant the revocation of their certification. Quite often, these gypsy cops wind up at small departments that have small budgets and salaries to match. Small towns normally can't afford to pay to put an officer through the mandatory training/academy so find themselves as a magnet for the gypsies.

Off. Randy Price and former Mayor Bert Reeves

The shooting in Cottageville, SC has many layers of controversy. A gypsy cop by the name of Randy Price fatally shot the former town mayor while they were on an isolated dirt road. No one knows why they were there and what transpired. There were no witnesses. The former mayor had a history of driving violations with one reckless driving incident almost costing him his life due to a traumatic brain injury. Blood tests revealed that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the accident. Reeves was involved in a highly publicized domestic dispute, with his wife obtaining a restraining order.  He was also noted for being caught on tape telling officers to write more tickets to ensure their own salary. Reeves took pride in the fact that his little town was known for being a speed trap.
Officer Randy Price had 8 law enforcement jobs in 11 years. This article details his work history.
Some of Price's employment history also plays out like a serial drama.

As with all officer involved shootings in SC, they are investigated by the State Law Enforcement Division. (SLED) Once their investigation was concluded, SLED turned it over to the state's chief prosecutor.

The chief prosecutor for the 14th judicial circuit, Duffie Stone, has written a letter to US Attorney Bill Nettles asking for a federal grand jury.  Stone's letter read in part, “Due to the complex nature of this investigation I am asking that your office use the investigative abilities of the federal grand jury to assume the investigation and prosecution of this matter."  

That's where it was left.

And now, rumors are swirling around in this small town. The present mayor of Cottageville is the former mayor's aunt. It is reported that she sent an email to other council members that she had received a "verbal" report from SLED that the investigation was over and that Randy Price would be exonerated of all charges. SLED states that no such thing has happened and that the investigation is still under review by the feds.
The feds have released no information whatsoever on a case that's been pending for about 8 months.

Over to Eutawville, SC

In May 2011, the former police chief, Ricky Combs, shot and killed retired corrections officer, Bernard Bailey outside of town hall, allegedly in a dispute over a traffic ticket written to his daughter. This case had some racial implications because the police chief is white and Bailey is black. The family called for patience and were reluctant to call it any kind of racially motivated issue. Although the NAACP and 500 others were ready to call it that.
This case was also investigated by SLED and then suddenly, the Dept. of Justice picked up the ball, essentially bypassing the state's prosecutor.

In November, the mayor of Eutawville announced a new police chief had been hired for the town. The details of Ricky Combs' departure have never been released. He too, had a history of being a nomad cop. Although his was not as extensive as Randy Price's.

So when will the feds get off their asses and make a decision on these cases?  I'm willing to bet that the feds will release their findings about the time the snow melts in Alaska.

Officer Involved Shooting brings Feds

Eutawville, SC - (pronounced like the state of Utah)

A small community in Orangeburg County,
population 500, lies some 50 miles northwest of Charleston.
Their police department consists of one police officer, the Police Chief.

This is the 4th police officer in the last year that the town council has hired.

The present chief, Ricky Combs, was hired by Eutawville after he had been released from light duty at the Elloree Police Dept. where he had been employed for several years.  Prior to that, he had been terminated from the Orangeburg Co. Sheriff's Dept.  Combs was employed by the Sheriff's office for 6 years, and was terminated for 'violating that agency's policies, but not for misconduct.'  Such is the wording of the personnel document. That could mean anything from substandard performance to sleeping on duty.
Every time a police officer leaves a department, the SC Criminal Justice Academy is notified as to their reasons, whether it be a transfer or termination. Believe it or not, that information is accessible under the FOI act.  With that, the cops in SC have a right to be a tad paranoid about their every move.

Story goes that on May, 2, Bernard Bailey, 54 years of age and a former corrections officer, went to Eutawville town hall with a traffic ticket belonging to his daughter.  It is said that his intent was to get the court date changed.  Combs and Bailey came face to face in the parking lot.  The only fact that was released is that Bailey was shot 3 times by Combs.  No other information was given.  Was Bailey armed, you ask?  The consensus was that he was not, and the Orangeburg Co. Sheriff's Dept. incident report was a colossal joke.  How can anyone justify a written incident report that contains one sentence? As with all officer involved shootings in SC, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) handles the investigation. I'm guessing Orangeburg Co. figured that it was merely "an assist" call and that's all they needed to write.  A perfectly good example of a bad report.  You know, "Saw drunk. Arrested same."  So short. So wrong.

What is remarkably refreshing is that this has been a rather subdued investigation and there have been no ugly outcries of racism and no finger pointing.  Yes, Bailey is black and Combs is white.  Bailey's family has asked everyone to remain calm and not to jump to conclusions.  A recent town hall meeting that attracted over 500 people and the NAACP asked for witnesses to come forward and for everyone to cooperate fully with law enforcement.  While the SC State Law Enforcement Division was already in the midst of investigating this shooting, the Feds have now thrown their hat in the ring.  The US Attorney's office and the FBI confirmed it today. Clearly, this means the feds wouldn't be poking their nose in to a local matter if there wasn't more than just a hint of a civil rights violation.  Either that, or somebody's got a little juice.

A Facebook page for Bailey has been set up, seeking comments and condolences. The FB page also has a link to an on line petition.  The author of the petition, who has an annoying question mark addiction, seeks to bring notice to the US Congress for a federal investigation.  Last count for signatures on the petition was about 1400. Well the Feds are here so hold the phone!

This Facebook page has also drawn the attention of a recent nightmarish pain-in-the-ass that goes by the name of Tyler Williams.  If you recall, Williams is the uncle of one Bobby Gadsden who was shot and killed by a homeowner because he was in the process of burglarizing his home.  Uncle Tyler seeks to compare this incident with his own experience against the Castle Doctrine.  Maybe he thinks that he can get the attention of the Feds while they're in town. Uncle Tyler changes the story every time he tells it and he is not someone I'd ever want as an ally. This is what Williams posted on the FB wall for Bernard Bailey -

From Tyler Williams, the uncle of Bobby L. Gadsden Jr. who was shot in the back of his head while unarmed & fleeing a home, that he was allegdly given access to by the home owner's (also shooter) son in Moncks Corner, SC on 4/13/2011. "Authorities" deemed it justifiable with no questions asked, even after many of the lies they told to cover-up this murder &  mislead the public, were exposed with crime scene photos. Such as him wearing a mask, holding a shot gun or even being shot coming down the stairs. My families' heart felt condolences & prayers go out to the Bailey family for your tragic loss! We pray that justice be served not only for my nephew &  Mr. Bailey but for all those unjustifiably murdered in SC & considered "justified" by those who misappropriate & abuse the use of the Castle Doctrine.

If you read my other posts; Homeowner Shoots Burglar, The Castle Doctrine Goes on Trial, Give it up Already!, One More Thing..., you'll know that Tyler Williams is not your ordinary loud-mouthed, bigoted moron looking for some easy money.  No, he's a bothersome, blood sucking tick!  He's like a wound that won't heal.  He is more than tactless - if that's possible.  The man has no shame.  I wouldn't be surprised if he tries riding on the coat tails of this incident just to get his face in front of a camera again.

I don't profess to have an opinion one way or another on this particular shooting.  But I have to admit, it ain't lookin' so good for Combs.

Gypsy Cops and Small Town Politics

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.