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Watching The Cops Title: Entire police force quits all at once in South Carolina town After two weeks of silence, former North Police Chief Mark Fallaw says he can finally talk about why the town no longer has any police. Since becoming mayor, Patty Carson has assumed an “alarming” level of control over town operations, Fallaw said. He wasn’t allowed to send emails, buy anything but gas or tires, or speak to the media without Carson’s authorization, he said. “She said there would be ramifications if you talked to the media,” Fallaw said Wednesday. Fallaw’s last day was Tuesday, opening him up to speak about the changes that led to the resignation of the entire police department. After more than 13 years as chief, he resigned in response to demands from the mayor that he felt he could not follow. In his Nov. 17 resignation letter, Fallaw told Carson, “You implemented several procedures that are in direct conflict with national law enforcement standards, laws and accepted administrative practices. “Your intent to supervise all incoming and outgoing correspondence, to prohibit mutual-aid agreements and to have a department vision that solely focuses on citation quotas is alarming.” An officer left prior to the election. After the election, the clerk, a reserve office, Fallaw and another officer resigned. “No one was terminated,” Fallaw said. Carson did not return calls Wednesday seeking comment. Fallaw came to North after spending five years as chief of the Columbia College police department. When he arrived, the town was facing a number of lawsuits centered on the department. The town implemented policies and procedures that helped clear up the lawsuit problem, he said. Also, the town has experienced a 60 percent reduction in violent crimes and a 30 percent reduction in property crimes, Fallaw said. “I’ll stand on that record,” he said. Once she became mayor, Carson began exercising control over the department, Fallaw said. Under North’s strong-mayor form of government, the mayor is the town’s administrator. “It was clear when she took office she was going to hold the reins not only of the police department, but all the departments,” Fallaw said. Later he added, “I would describe her management style as dictator.” Carson told Fallaw she has to approve all correspondence and email, except for what she was not allowed to see under the law, Fallaw said. She said she wanted to learn about law enforcement, he said. She also informed Fallaw the department was not authorized to spend money except on gas and tires, he said. Fallaw said he previously managed his department’s budget with no problem. She also took control of basic responsibilities like scheduling vacations, he said. Fallaw was to provide Carson with a list of his duties, no longer handle administrative tasks and focus on writing tickets, he said. Fallaw said Carson also “implemented a quota during my first meeting with her.” Fallaw said Carson told him she wanted every member of the department on the road writing tickets, with officers writing three or four times the amount of tickets they had been. He informed her that ticket quotas are against the law and “she didn’t say anything.” She also demanded the policy manual he created on his own time, Fallaw said. He considers the manual his personal work that he previously loaned to the department. He was never paid for the work, he said. Fallaw asks why he would provide the mayor with the policies and procedures when she seemed intent on not following them. Doing something contrary to policies or national practices leaves the town open to liability, he said. Fallaw admits he and Carson have “history.” It started after she was first elected to council in 2010. She wanted to see the cellphone records for the police, but not other departments, Fallaw said. He said he expressed concerns about the request. When she insisted under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, Fallaw said he told her it would cost an estimated $700 for him to go through the records and weed out the numbers of confidential informants, victims and others. She no longer sought the information. “Some of this seems a little vindictive if I had to guess,” he said. For instance, he resigned on a Tuesday, Nov. 17. She had him clean out his office by the next Friday, not waiting until he left, Fallaw said. “The office still sits vacant today,” he said Wednesday. “Or at least it was yesterday.” “She also kicked the sergeant out of his office. She now occupies that office,” Fallaw said. Also, she is holding the officers’ last checks to ensure nothing was compromised, even though she signed receipts saying all the town’s property was returned by the officers, Fallaw said. But he notes the people of North voted for Carson over the other candidates. “They elected Ms. Carson, and we can’t deny that,” he said. Overall, Fallaw says he’s concerned about the town that’s being left behind. For instance, he says he understands the town is planning to begin holding its parade once again on busy Highway 321, crossing the railroad tracks, even though it no longer has police to direct traffic and Carson ended mutual-aid agreements with neighboring towns. Under those agreements, towns pledge to lend help to other police departments. Also, the county had to remove the town’s notices of outstanding warrants and stolen items from the National Crime Information Center database since the town is no longer able to answer requests for information as required, he said. And while the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office will be answering calls in North, Fallaw says a department serving the county’s entire 1,100 square miles can’t give the town the police coverage it had with its own force. “I wish the citizens the best,” Fallaw said. He wants them to have good law enforcement coverage and to feel safe. “They deserve that,” he said. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 4.
#1. To: Willie Green (#0)
Sounds like A K A Stone.
Whats wrong Fred, not happy here ?
I'm happy all the time. Willie knows what I'm talking about. And I like you too.
#5. To: Fred Mertz (#4)
Well good, I'm glad. I did not intend to intrude on you & Willie. Pardon me
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