Surfside chose their new permanent police chief after a private discussion. What we know
Earlier this week the Town of Surfside Beach named their new permanent Police Chief after discussing the decision in a closed executive session.
Councilmembers and Mayor Robert Krouse unanimously voted for Interim Chief Ken Davis to become the Surfside Beach Police Department’s permanent replacement.
Davis did not return The Sun News’s request for comment.
Surfside’s communications coordinator, Tabitha Mull, previously told The Sun News that they had received over three dozen applications for the position.
When asked to release the names and resumes of the other candidates on Thursday, Mull said via email, “I don’t have the information requested.”
Davis’s appointment comes after controversy with the former permanent chief, Kenneth Hofmann, for the department, who resigned earlier this spring after insinuating that officials voted to investigate alleged high turnover rates in the department.
Hofmann has since filed a defamation suit against the town, Town Clerk Sheri Medina and Councilmember Harry Kohlmann.
Davis has worked in law enforcement for over three decades, most recently serving as the corporal detective with the department since last September. Outside of the Myrtle Beach area, he’s also worked as the Horry County deputy chief, city administrator in South Carolina and police chief in several places throughout South Carolina and Tennessee, the initial release about his promotion to interim chief said.
He holds multiple degrees, including a Bachelors from The Citadel, a Masters in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in Public Safety from Capella University.
As of Friday afternoon, Mull has not released new information to the public naming Davis as the permanent chief.
There was no public discussion about the council’s resounding choice for Davis Tuesday night, which the South Carolina Press Association’s lawyer, Taylor Smith, said was legal, but not necessarily best practice or transparent.
“Democracy is a good thing, and to that extent we have to make sure that citizens of the state learn the activities of public officials at minimum cost or delay,” Smith said. “Consequently, you have actions that may not technically violate the letters of FOIA, but definitely violate the spirit, because it didn’t allow for those who were present at the meeting to understand what [councilmembers] were even voting on.”
Part of following those laws meant the council had to explain why they were going into executive session that day on Tuesday’s regular scheduled meeting agenda, and the agenda shows they did.
Further south, in Beaufort County, councilmembers broke that law by offering a candidate the county administrator job without publicly voting on it, which is in direct violation of South Carolina law.
After negotiation fell through, they offered the job to their second choice, Michael Moore, who was hired.
