Complaints against former police chief must be released, ruling says
A court of appeals ruling means the city of Columbia will have to release copies of complaints against former police chief Randy Scott – unless city officials decide to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
The decision came Wednesday, according to court documents. Scott resigned from the Columbia Police Department in 2013, citing post-traumatic stress disorder. He later went on to a job at the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, where he had worked before leading the Columbia force.
George Glassmeyer, who filed suit more than three years ago after the city refused a Freedom of Information Act request, said he knows there’s at least one complaint against the former chief. Glassmeyer was at one time a Columbia police officer and later a state prosecutor.
“The only thing I know is that there was a complaint and they’ve not given it up – and I want it,” Glassmeyer said.
The court’s ruling says there are “certain emails and other complaints.”
W. Allen Nickles, the attorney representing the city, said on Thursday, “I have not had the opportunity to discuss the decision with my client. For this reason I can inform you only that the matter is under review.”
Scott left the sheriff’s department July 19 due to medical issues, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Curtis Wilson said.
Scott’s tenure as police chief was marked by controversy – including the botched 2012 search for a missing lobbyist who was found dead 10 days after he was reported missing. After the search, one officer was fired and another resigned. Isa Greene, former deputy police chief of administration, was the officer who was fired. Greene is suing Scott, the police department and the city, alleging discrimination. She said in the suit she was made a scapegoat for the botched investigation.
Shortly before Scott resigned from the Columbia force in 2013, he took an unexpected leave of absence. When he resigned, he said he had developed PTSD after the 2005 death of Keith Cannon – a Richland County deputy Scott had hired when he worked for the sheriff’s department.
This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Complaints against former police chief must be released, ruling says."