SC Attorney General won’t prosecute Chester police chief, officers after SLED probe
South Carolina officials said Tuesday they will not prosecute three suspended Chester police officers following an investigation into the Chester Police Department finances.
The state’s top prosecutor said there is not enough evidence. The police officers now want back pay and reinstatement to their jobs, according to their lawyer.
Chester city officials suspended Police Chief Eric Williams, Capt. Travis Moore, and Lt. Ricky Sanders in January amid a review of the department’s finances by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, according to city officials and the lawyer for the officers.
On Tuesday, SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby confirmed SLED investigated and the S.C. Attorney General’s Office sent a letter back to SLED that said there was insufficient evidence to pursue a criminal prosecution.
The letter stated that the attorney general’s office has closed the file on the matter, Crosby said.
Details about what finances were being investigated were not released.
In January, lawyer J. Paul Porter of Columbia, representing all three police officers, named the three officers in a written statement after a public grievance was filed by Porter for the officers against the city. Porter said in January politics was behind the request for an investigation.
Porter told The Herald Tuesday the officers are asking the city of Chester for back pay.
“It is our position the officers are cleared,” Porter said. “They deserve to be paid.”
Porter said the officers should be reinstated immediately.
Porter said he has a copy of the same letter from the attorney general to SLED that states there is not sufficient evidence.
Porter said he has not heard anything from the city concerning the attorney general’s decision, or whether the officers will be paid or reinstated.
Efforts to reach Chester city officials with the city’s human resources office were unsuccessful Tuesday.
A person at the mayor’s office in Chester declined comment but forwarded a request for comment to Mayor Wanda Stringfellow.
After the officers were suspended in January, the city named Milton Sims as interim police chief.
Chester is a city of around 5,500 people in Chester County, located between Rock Hill and Columbia.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 2:39 PM.
