Mayor Dies in Police Chase Days After Entire Force Resigns

[Polybius]

Source: Yahoo! News

A South Carolina mayor died while being pursued by law enforcement on Tuesday, just days after the town’s entire police force quit due to a “hostile work environment.”

McColl Mayor George Garner II veered into eastbound traffic and collided head-on with an 18-wheeler during the police chase. Garner was connected to an active investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, sources told WBTW, though details of the investigation are not clear.

“The pursuit not related to any laws being broken. The pursuit was taking place in an effort to protect the well-being of Mr. Garner,” the coroner said, adding that more information will be released in the coming days.

On Nov. 21, just five days before the crash, police chief Bob Hale and his five officers resigned from their post. Hale announced the departure in a Facebook post, where he said he left because of “repeated acts of harassment” and “personal attacks” on his character by a town council member.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/mayor-dies-police-chase-days-184154570.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=YW5kcm9pZC1hcHA6Ly9jb20uZ29vZ2xlLmFuZHJvaWQuZ29vZ2xlcXVpY2tzZWFyY2hib3gv&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJjL21ECiWHyd58ZFATV8RxKNLa-qG5xdL--fwR58cRS2BMBCCp3-XdjXoDeGl2Wv8VY51nO2iAs0OYGhmfbEoqPiRxyq2YfMeCjFV7K2NpW5qY64xiuiaR8HSqPp6hN7gkv_O0g5-dYgN1Z2aGVoomMCFOln3Vj21qOg1EzqaFF

[Lunabell]

1. Wow.

Now ain't that some shit. Suicide by semi. I feel bad for the semi driver.

[COL Mustard]

12. My thought exactly.

Suicide by semi.

[PJMcK]

15. Maybe he lost control?

Obviously in deep shit.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

24. double wow

[FakeNoose]

2. Hot pursuit should never be allowed inside the city limits of any town

There are too many unintended consequences, and they can often be fatal.

[niyad]

13. When I was in Florida in the mid-90's, there were several "hot pursuits" involving

stolen vehicles that resulted in the deaths of innocents, within a very short timespan. The fucking sheriff said, basically, "too fucking bad, it is imperative to recover stolen property." He and I had words on that comment, for which I would probably be arrested these days.

[yardwork]

38. Our law enforcement exists to protect property rights.

A lot of us didn't know that before, but we know it now. A suspected counterfeit $20 is worth more than a Black man's life. So are loose cigarettes. Etc.

[Think. Again.]

3. If the police force resigned days before, what law enforcement was chasing him?

[eggplant]

5. Troopers.

https://www.sled.sc.gov/

[LisaL]

7. That's a very good question.

NT

[RockRaven]

4. "The pursuit was taking place in an effort to protect the well-being of Mr. Garner"

Oh...

Well, "Mission Accomplished" then.

[LisaL]

6. Sounds very fishy to me.

How chasing him was going to protect his well being?

[Polybius]

14. They apparently thought that he was suicidal

I guess they were sorta right.

[C0RI0LANUS]

8. Well, this Carolina town and its police force certainly wasn't Mayberry.

[grockri]

9. I will bet money!

This guy is a white supremacist Magat. The picture looks like he had tons of tats. I think he was committing suicide. I'll bet some juicy stuff will come out on him in the very near future. I have my own suspicions.

[Random Boomer]

16. According to comments posted under the article, he was a Dem n/t

[Mortos]

31. Self Deleted

Deleted

[grockri]

33. I don't think so

Looking at him he is not a dem. He's tatted to the max, and looks like a trumpy. Maybe I'r wrong, but he looks like a typical Magat

[Elessar Zappa]

34. Tattoos hav nothing to do with political affiliation.

Many Democrats have tattoos.

[grockri]

35. Not the kind you can see on his arms. Looks like white supremacist stuff

[Lulu KC]

19. Tats are only on Republicans?

I have not observed that.

[rubbersole]

20. Bobert's ex-convicted sex predator husband supposedly had one on his d*ck.

...showing it to underage Lauren and her friends got him prison time. Then she married him and had 4 children. She probably has a tramp stamp that says "proceed".

[Lulu KC]

21. Not saying no Rs have them

They are very bi-partisan in my experience.

[rubbersole]

22. You are correct...👋

..more tattoos on most nazi magat bikers than every 30 year old skateboarder in the US combined.

[XorXor]

39. Is this something you studied or read studies on that have actual numbers?

Or is this simply based on your assumptions and biases?

[rubbersole]

40. Like most of my rantings....

...pulled completely out of my 🍑. Like my grandpappy used to say "Opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one."
👋

[JI7]

27. I would say Democratic/liberal leaning types are more likely to have tattoos than the other side

[bee_peaceful]

10. Peace to the soul of the truck driver. NT

[JHB]

11. My thoughts run to: Who was the bad guy? The Councilman, the police, or both?

Ok, so the resignations were because the police felt "harassed," "personal attacks," and the councilman denied "appeals for funding to modernize equipment, enhance training, and increase staffing levels to meet the needs of our community."

I mean, was the councilman just being a power-tripping a-hole to the cops? Was he a stand-up guy trying to rein in abusive/militaristic cops, or was this basically two sets of a-holes clashing? Not enough information in the news reports.

[niyad]

17. None of the "reports" that I read from various news sources contained

any truly useful information, other than that he was being investigated by SLED (state law enforcement division).

[Celerity]

18. cleaned up link

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mayor-dies-police-chase-days-184154570.html

[Arrgh]

23. 10 miles from my home town.

So, holy crap. I don't have living family there any more and I've lost touch with whatever friends that were dumb enough to stay, but I'll check with my nephews that are close by across the border in NC. I'm sure the deep dirt on this is common knowledge.

Marlboro County is on the SC/NC border. It's part of the sand hills, nothing but flat land and pine trees. Nothing to do but hunt, fish, drink, and get into trouble, often all at the same time.

[wolfie001]

30. Wow!!!

I bet you've seen some sights in that local Piggly Wiggly.

[Arrgh]

32. I haven't lived there since the 70's.

Still, it's just a place to live, like anywhere else. I can see the same kind of rednecks at the local big box store. They just have more than their share.

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

25. Wasn't even surprised to read that this happened in the "Bible Belt". Such HYPOCRISY!

[underpants]

26. That's bizarre. There has to be a lot more to this story.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

28. Small town crime and corruption is clearly out of control in America!

Where are the screaming headlines on cable news?

[TexasBushwhacker]

36. My mother's cousin was a police chief in a small town

in South Texas. He had been a cop in Houston for 25 years. He was appalled at all the corruption he discovered. Bribes right and left from drug and human traffickers. He tried to crack down on it and was fired by the city council. Apparently the bribe money was being shared with them.

[Yonnie3]

29. It was the deceased Mayor who had requested the county deputies to cover the town.

https://www.postandcourier.com/pee-dee/news/south-carolina-mccoll-police-resigned-mayor-died/article_1bfe5f28-ad0b-11ef-9a1f-cf827bed982d.html

...
Coroner Todd Hardee said Garner was being pursued by Marlboro County sheriff’s deputies at the time. The pursuit was not related to any broken laws, he said.
...
Charles Lemon, sheriff of Marlboro County, told The Post and Courier that his office had spoken to Garner’s wife, April, and became concerned for the mayor’s wellbeing. That is why he was being followed.
...

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southeast/marlboro-county-deputies-following-but-not-pursuing-mccoll-mayor-before-deadly-crash-sheriff-says/

...
Garner sourced help from the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office, which continues to help. Several sheriff’s deputies were monitoring the town on Nov. 27.
...

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. Sounds like suicide by truck n/t