Hardeeville Business members receive letter.

Hardeeville Business members receive letter.

To whom it may concern (and hopefully, it will concern some!):
From: A long time resident of the wonderful city of Hardeeville



Regarding the Hardeeville Police Department, and the so called restructuring of same:

I have several questions that I believe should be addressed.
Do the members of the Hardeeville Town Council realize what is going on in the Police department? Yes, the termination of the Chief was probably warranted, however, several concerns now arise. The placement of power and supervision has now been bestowed on one who has been known to represent Hardeeville in an unprofessional manner, to say the least. Incidents of public alcohol intoxication, driving the city vehicle for personal use (hunting, fishing, personal long distance trips and alcohol use while in the city vehicle), of which were known to have been reported to upper level management by members of the community or by officers of the department, were obviously ignored or approved of and now have been rewarded by promotion to interim chief. Professionalism (or maybe education) is certainly not a strong point for the interim chief, as evidenced by department memos that are filled with grammatical and spelling errors, sent on a department letterhead that self appoints the lieutenant as the “Intern” chief instead of interim chief. To speak with officers, the morale is certainly at an all time low (that is, when officers dare to speak, for they have been threatened with termination if they speak to the citizens or members of the council regarding what is happening in the police department or discussion of the behavior of the upper management in recent meetings at city hall).

Do the members of the council realize who is patrolling their streets? Four officers are not yet certified (have not yet attended the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy), and in fact have no prior law enforcement experience. Three are certified patrolmen, on Corporal, one Sergeant and the interim Chief (who, by the way, is not a legal South Carolina resident which is a requirement to be a police officer here. He lives in Rincon, GA, yet holds a South Carolina drivers license, which I believe to be a violation of the law). As a matter of fact, only one officer resides in the city limits.

Do the council members realize that increased revenue, by way of traffic enforcement, seems to be the goal for upper management? Do they realize that upper management would be satisfied with the elimination of the current police department, having a clean slate, so to speak, at the expense of the safety of the citizens of Hardeeville? A suggestion was made by same upper management, (who also does not reside in South Carolina), that the Sheriff’s department could answer calls in the interim. As you may be aware, Jasper County in a very large county with two deputies routinely covering the entire area. Response time would certainly be increased dramatically. With the expected growth, who will be drawn to out city?

I cannot understand, if council members area aware of such conduct, how they allow this behavior to continue. If this type of behavior is condoned by our elected leaders, what kind of community or family environment are we choosing to live in? Hometown Hardeeville is fast becoming a thing of the past and other law enforcement communities look at us as a joke.

I am, apologetically, writing this letter anonymously. I fear that revealing my identity would being hardship, even retaliation, on me yet I feel that it’s time for things to come to light.

Following are incidents that are documented, (or can be verified), involving the acting interim chief:

Frequently socializes with his subordinate officers, with heavy alcohol use, in the city vehicle. On one such occasion, requested an on duty Hardeeville officer, (in a marked unit), to meet with him and follow him home, (out of state), maintaining cell phone contact so as to advise him when he was leaving the road. The officer, upon returning to the city, reported the incident to his supervisor and the police chief.

A citizen, dining on a late night at the Waffle House, observed an intoxicated Lt. Martin shooting spitballs and heckling a Hardeeville police officer who was working off duty there. This incident was reported to City Hall by said citizen.

Very shortly after above incident, the same lieutenant was observed drinking at a Bluffton restaurant/bar, (again with the subordinate officers), throwing food that prompted an altercation with another diner.

The lieutenant was counseled on above activity and advised that he was no longer to socialize in public with subordinate officers, yet continues to do so.

During hunting season, the lieutenant’s city vehicle was observed frequently unattended at mile marker 4 on I-95 while he was hunting. It is an ordinance violation to hunt in the city limits. The city vehicle has also been seen pulling a personal boat around town.

As a last note, the weekend after being named interim chief, he socialized with his subordinate officers, (heavy alcohol consumption was involved), resulting in one officer unable to report for duty the following night.

The city manager’s behavior at a recent meeting with the police department employees should be reviewed.

In closing: Is the appointed interim chief the best we could do? Is this the direction that the council is entrusting the city manager to lead the police department in? Is this the kind of city that the council wants for it’s citizens?

CC: members of city council, The Island Packet, The Beaufort Gazette, The Blutton Today, Savannah Morning News, Hardeeville City Hall, Hardeeville Businesses.