Loris Police Department supports the community

By Annie Rigby

The Loris Police Department (LPD) held their participation in the National Night Out event on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 7 p.m. in the Fox Bay community beginning at 329 Ross Road and walked through the neighborhood. Lt. Larry Williams said, “This is a community building campaign that forms police and community partnerships to show support both ways.”

Williams stated every agency chooses how they celebrate the program to say, “We are here for you and how can we make your lives a little easier, safer and vice versa”. He said, “Before the coronavirus we were able to bring out our vehicles and officers show the equipment the city has purchased through their tax money.” Due to the virus the vehicles will be available to see, but no one is able to get into the vehicle, blow the horn, turn on the siren or sit in the back seat for picture opportunities.

Shana Mincey, LPD administrative assistant, victim advocate and evidence technician, ordered a special wreath that is displayed at the entrance door to the department She said, “I wanted to show my support to our officers and my fellow coworkers.” She continued, “I ordered a wreath from LaRinda Massey who added a plaque that states, “For He is God’s servant for your good but if you do wrong, be afraid for He does not bear the sword in vain. For He is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:4. Mincey donated the wreath to the LPD.

On Tuesday, July 28, the Sheriff’s Department and Horry County Police Department were in search of someone who is experiencing mental issues on Maple Street. Lt. Williams assured this had nothing to do with drug activity or criminal activity.

The LPD June 2020 report presented to council shows a total of 1,038 calls received that the department responded to in the month of June. Officers responded to 15 vehicle accidents, 24 alarms, 3 assaults,, 2 auto breaking and entering, 2 burglary, 3 criminal domestic violence (CDV/Domestic), 14 drug activity, 7 Larceny , 5 shoplifting reports, other calls which could include peeping toms, suspicious person or reporting someone is in need of assistance that the car is broken down on the side of the road and 221 traffic stops. Mileage for the month of June was 5,324. No reports were made regarding CSC, juvenile cases, malicious damage, robbery or homicides.

Chief Buley added to his report, “Good job to all the officers for working on Operation Broken Branch and assisting with the big operation.” The 14 drug activity reported in June did not include the 28 suspects arrested during the operation.

Chief Buley has mandated his officers wear a face mask provided to them when dealing with the public. Temperatures are checked every day before each shift. If an officer shows a higher than normal fever they will be taken off duty and sent home until 14 days passes or they are able to show the COVID-19 virus negative test results. The department has had several COVID tests within the last month.

The good news is when Eric Stevens was promoted to detective the percent of cases solved moved from 17 percent to 79 percent which is 360 percent in resolving crimes. Detective Stevens works the investigation which was the intent of the promotion; Loris did not have a detective to oversee crime investigations. He also helps with his fellow officers on the road often. Williams said, “Some crimes will never be solved, it is just the way it is sometimes.” He provided an example with wearing face masks due to COVID and if they are caught on video shoplifting it is highly unlikely to identify the person.

The LPD is patiently waiting for the Loris City Council to readdresses the department’s request for a vehicle specifically designed to transport drug evidence to the SLED office in Columbia. They have requested a truck with a locking lid for the bed of the truck to remove evidence in solved cases. Williams said, “The smell is obvious with marijuana, however, other dangerous drugs such as opioids or fentanyl filtrate through the air which has no odor and can be introduced into the system of the person transporting the evidence.” He stated that there are rules to follow when transporting this type of evidence for the three hour trip to Columbia. The request was tabled by council in the July city council meeting.

The security event camera requested by LPD was voted against utilizing the cameras to help solve crimes; council voted 4 to 3 to not continue to seek more information. The LPD is not pursuing the purchase at this time. Williams suggested the city developing a special committee to handle matters involving hospitality. They can report back to council if they choose to go this route.

Williams and Buley stated that the LPD officers are essential and each officer is “busting their butt” not to be exposed to the COVID. With responding to the 1,038 calls reported in June, Williams said this is the call itself, not the number of officers responding or the number of people in person-to-person communication with the officers. He said, “The COVID changed the perspective how to manage the officers who respond to calls 24 hours a day to anything and everything with no complaints.” He continued, “Our officers love their jobs and enjoy working with the community. It is tough to get community involvement due to the environment of the virus.”

Another example was spending time with children last year at Capture Inc., seeing the children and showing the vehicles including the surplus vehicles used for an emergency which calls for water rescue. Williams said, “We would go by Capture Inc. and play kickball with the kids and enjoy doing this when we could get out.” He stated COVID is making it difficult and the department does not want to be the cause of someone getting sick with the virus. The point is the LPD officers want to get back out into the community, and with small children it is difficult for them not to want hugs or sit inside the police vehicles. He stated that the department’s success is due to team effort on the part of each officer. He said the officers are tightknit and are proud of their department.

I need help, who do I call? If you require police assistance, there are a number of ways you can request it. For emergencies, dial 9-1-1 immediately. Save this number for situations where a call could stop a crime, save a life or report a fire.

For non-emergencies where you need to speak with an officer, call dispatch at 843-248-1520. If you don’t need to speak with an officer the same day and you’re reporting something non-violent or property-based, use the CopLogic online incident reporting tool. Community members can submit reports for 14 incident types online: https://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/HCPD/Citizen-Reports.

HCPD precinct locations are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Any calls or visits to the precincts after hours or on the weekends are not received until the next business day.