Police concerns, compliments shared in Blackville

Multiple Blackville residents expressed their concerns and compliments to the Blackville Police Department (BPD) on August 1 at the second annual community forum.

“Anything you have on your mind, any issues, a pat on the back, anything you’d like to bring forward today,” said Chief Ray Crawford. “No question is too big or too small.”

Concerns ranged from the attitude of officers to means of communication with the public.

Seven officers were present at the forum: Chief Crawford, Captain Lee Huggins, Lieutenant Brian Gray, First Sergeant Dontrey Staley, Corporal Randall Self, Patrolman First Class Justin Thomas, and Officer Johnny Stephens.

BPD is currently fully staffed with these officers. This is a leap from the number of officers on the force when Chief Crawford was hired in August 2021.

When Chief Crawford was first hired, he told The People-Sentinel he had three major goals: to have a better relationship with nearby law enforcement agencies, to create a partnership with the school district, and to build a better relationship with the community. He also hoped to enhance the department’s use of technology.

The department uses a few avenues to communicate recent occurrences and timely information to the public.

On Facebook, the department has multiple accounts. Most recently, they have been using an account named ‘Blackville PD’ to give updates on safety checkpoints.

The department utilizes The People-Sentinel to publish recent arrests as well as posting updates on the Blackville Wire – a Facebook group meant for community concerns and happenings.

Once a year, BPD also holds this community forum. Chief Crawford expressed when the first forum was held last year, BPD did not have as strong of a relationship with the community that they do now due in part to events such as this.

“There wasn’t a relationship, but I feel that now there is a relationship,” said Chief Crawford. “The most violent crimes we wouldn’t have solved if it weren’t for the community reaching out to us.”

“Even though we are professional law enforcement officers, we can’t do it without you all,” said Chief Crawford. “We appreciate you for pushing us.”

At the forum, a resident explained he feels safe in Blackville and has had good experiences when calling law enforcement. He stated an aspect of public safety he still feels unsure about is the number of dogs at large, but public works director and fire chief Earthel Walker has been helpful in handling this.

According to Mayor Ronnie Pernell at previous council meetings, animal control duties would fall under a code enforcement officer, which the town does not have. A code enforcement officer would also enforce town ordinances relating to things such as dilapidated or rundown buildings.

A resident of Blackville asked the chief to begin giving updates on BPD activities at town council meetings as he commonly attends. She also asked about response times of officers – to which she was informed one of their main goals is to respond quickly and safely.

BPD has begun to increase enforcement of traffic laws in town – noting this was a goal of the department.

One resident expressed concern about racing on Jones Bridge Road and asked if BPD could increase their presence in the area. Chief Crawford asked her to keep an eye out for police units as he would aim to have officers on the road more frequently.

In addition to patrol, officers are making roughly three narcotic seizures per month. More recently, a traffic stop by Cpl. Self resulted in the apprehension of a slew of drugs.

Cpl. Self explained he stopped a car headed toward Denmark going over the speed limit. Upon pulling the vehicle over, there were two individuals from Georgia inside. There was a faint smell of marijuana to which one of the individuals handed over a small bag of the substance, according to Self.

Due to having probable cause, Cpl. Self then searched the car to find two large bags of mushrooms totaling almost 1,000 grams, fourteen bags containing cannabis oil vape pens with 91 refill cartridges, and a bag of marijuana, according to the incident report.

Methamphetamine was turned into the officers by the vehicle’s passenger along with other paraphernalia such as needles.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement (SLED) later informed BPD the two individuals had an extensive criminal history.

“Both of them were over 20 pages long with 50 arrests apiece,” said Lt. Gray.

Although he was not on the panel of police, Mayor Pernell took to the microphone regarding his thoughts on decorum with officers when conversation around attitude arose.

He explained residents need to acknowledge “normally force comes with force,” when having interactions with law enforcement, said Mayor Pernell.

“I hope that is not the way these guys will always respond, but sometimes there will be force with force,” he said. “One day they might be able to handle it and one day they might not be able to handle it.”

According to the Department of Justice’s Policy on Use of Force, “officers may only use force that is objectively reasonable to effectively gain control of an incident.”

Graham v. Connor, a 1989 Supreme Court case, ruled the decision to use force requires “careful attention to the facts and circumstances of each particular case, including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officer or others, and whether [the suspect] is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.”

The mayor continued to state that dealing with law enforcement “does not require a nasty response, because when you come with a nasty response…these guys are human, you don’t know what kind of day they’re having,” he said.

According to Chapter 13 of the Blackville Town Code, “each officer shall, at all times while on duty, conduct himself in an orderly manner and act with prudence, coolness, and judgment, but with a deliberate determination of effecting and strictly enforcing all the laws and ordinances of the town.”

Blackville resident Michelle Simmons responded to the mayor’s thoughts: “I don’t agree with that, it doesn't matter what mood they’re in, they still have to oblige by the law.”

Simmons explained as leaders in the community, she expects law enforcement officers to examine their actions just as she is required to in her position in healthcare. She supports the community working with law enforcement, but asks officers to do the same.

“I can’t say that I’ve seen all bad from you guys, but there can be some improvement in other areas besides crime,” said Simmons, referencing respect. “There are other ways that we can still show improvement.”

“Ms. Simmons expressed exactly what I just said, she probably doesn’t realize it, but it works two ways,” said Mayor Pernell in response.

Mayor Pernell explained that since his election in June 2022, he has not received any solid or traceable evidence indicative of a BPD officer doing “anything illegally, immoral, or wrong,” he said.

Mayor Pernell stated if information was brought forward of this nature, he and Chief Crawford will hold a meeting to address it promptly – if brought forward with a ‘good’ tone.

“I know personally, when I get a call from a citizen who is upset with the police department, most of the time it is not in a good tone from that person,” said Mayor Pernell.

“Most of the time, that person, maybe they don’t realize how their tone is, maybe they don’t realize how nasty they sound, and most of the time I have to keep my godliness in me to make sure I do not go to the level that they are going to,” said the mayor.

Although this is not Barnwell County specific, research from Mapping Police Violence, a non-profit organization tracking data from law enforcement agencies, shows 98.1 percent of killings by police from 2013-2022 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime in the U.S.

Mayor Pernell explained he aims to hold officers accountable for their actions when necessary and hopes the community will respond cordially when dealing with law enforcement.