Police appreciation theme of Myrtle Beach area group's dinner plans

A group of community leaders, members of the legal system and politicians are working together to encourage mutual respect between police and the community.

A group calling itself the Alert Community Coalition – chaired by 15th District Solicitor Jimmy Richardson – plans to hold a 400-guest law enforcement appreciation dinner in June.

“This is not just about loving our police, it’s about the police loving the community as well,” committee co-chairman and community activist Bennie Swans said. “We can make a difference if we work collectively. It’s not a contradiction to support good policing and police accountability.”

The dinner will be held 6 p.m. on June 12 at the Pine Lakes Country Club in Myrtle Beach. Kelvin Washington, a U.S. Marshal for South Carolina, will serve as the keynote speaker.

Organizers have been working on putting the dinner together for about a month as tensions continue to rise between the black community and law enforcement officers across the country after the shooting deaths of several unarmed black men.

As nearby as North Charleston, Patrolman Michael Thomas Slager was charged with the April 4 murder of 50-year-old Walter Lamer Scott, who was unarmed. Witness video released days after the incident depicted Slager shooting at Scott from a distance eight times as Scott ran away.

Attendees said they will work to encourage members of the Grand Strand community to cooperate with police.

“We all have a role to play and citizens have a role to play within that,” said Orton Bellamy, former member of the S.C. Board of Paroles and Pardons. “And police have the imperative to provide law enforcement. It’s about mutual respect.”

Horry County Sheriff Philip Thompson said communication in community policing is extremely important.

“It’s good to see we have this opportunity to sit down with the community and with law enforcement,” he said. “It’s important to the community, but also important to law enforcement.”

The committee will invite 200 police officers and 200 community members to the dinner. The committee plans to solicit enough donations through sponsorships so the officers and a guest can attend the dinner, which costs $25 per person, for free.

The public also is invited to attend. Those interested in donating to the dinner can take a check made out to “Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner” to Conway National Bank, Swans said.

For more information about the dinner, contact Swans at 251-2061.

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Police appreciation theme of Myrtle Beach area group's dinner plans."