Town of Pacolet left with no functioning PD after mass exodus
Pacolet SC Sept 17 2022
Hostile conditions, resistance to change from town leaders, and interpersonal tensions were attributed Wednesday evening as reasons for the mass exodus from the Pacolet Police Department.
The town of Pacolet is left with no functioning police department after three police officers, including Chief John Alexander and Lt. Daniel Gipson, have all resigned, according to town councilman Daniel Hood. He said the other resignation was a new hire officer, not yet certified by the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. One certified officer is currently on vacation. That officers employment or resignation status is unknown.
Alexander addressed the public Wednesday evening outside the Pacolet Police Department with Gipson standing alongside him.
“Citizens of Pacolet, it is with great sadness that after several weeks of prayer and soul-searching, Lt. Gipson and I have made the tough decision to resign our positions at the Pacolet Police Department,” he said.
According to Alexander, “resistance” from town leaders interfered with police operations. Alexander, along with other officers and Pacolet officials, did not take any questions following statements.
“We listened to and worked with our citizens to provide the type of protection they deserve, and unfortunately, with change you will meet resistance. The resistance from leaders who know what’s right yet are too afraid to let go of the old ways,” Alexander said.
Alexander said the police department’s concerns were not addressed.
“Lieutenant Gipson and I decided that when the resistance reached the level of interfering with operations of this department, as well as a working environment for all town employees, that it had become impossible to provide the service that we feel the citizens of Pacolet deserve,” he said. “Prior to making this decision, we voiced our concerns. Some saw the major problems developing and attempted to rectify them, but unfortunately there is an element of our community that is just fine with the old ways of doing things.”
Hood, town councilman for District 2, spoke about the environment that caused the officers and a town clerk to resign. He attributed the interpersonal tensions to an individual government employee.
“Basically [I’m] disappointed, in my three years on council I’ve seen the overall growth of this police department grow to what it is now – and the numbers they’re able to produce each month be shattered by an employee of the town that has caused friction,” Hood said. “We’re losing all this service and police protection on that – because the council could not come to an agreement to terminate this guy.”
Pacolet Police resigned over allegations made concerning the town administration. Pacolet Police Lt. Daniel Gipson, left, and Chief John Alexander react while making a public statement about their resignation.
In a press release issued earlier Wednesday, signed by Mayor Ned Camby and the six town council members, that the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office will be assisting to provide “equal coverage” for the areas without law enforcement as a result of the resignations.
“We ask that the Citizens of the Town of Pacolet understand and trust that we the Town Council and Administration will do our very best to remedy this situation as soon as possible and with a positive end result,” the press release stated.
Hood could not confirm what the actions of the employee were that caused the “friction.”
“The bummer is we didn’t just lose the police department, we lost a clerk a few weeks ago. And, you know, this doesn’t just change overnight. Something has to happen to make it this bad to where everybody wants to leave,” Hood said. “Everything fell apart during the month of September.”
Pacolet Police resigned over allegations made concerning the town administration. Pacolet Police Lt. Daniel Gipson, left, and Chief John Alexander, right, react with others after making a public statement about their resignation.
Hood added that a member of town council being on vacation resulted in a 3-3 tie on a vote of whether to terminate a Pacolet government employee. He also said that there would be a “reassessment” of the current situation. He did not know if a subsequent vote would be scheduled.
“October’s meeting – that would be the telltale of how we’re gonna move.”
Alexander was emotional while speaking to the small crowd gathered Wednesday evening.
“When I took over as Chief of Police two and one-half years ago, I did everything to turn the reputation of this community, especially this police department, around. I hired officers that truly cared about the community they served and cared about the perception, the perception of this department,” he said. “Over the past week the conditions have grown even more difficult, and the environment in town hall has become hostile. We knew we were making the right decision to walk away.
