By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- All three employees of the Johnsonville Police Department in South Carolina—Chief Ron Douglas and two officers—resigned following a June 30 city council vote that kept the department open but denied a request for $24,000 in raises.
- Chief Douglas, a 24-year veteran, cited financial hardship, strained relations with city council, and disagreement over departmental funding as reasons for leaving his position.
- Douglas alleged the city council floated the idea of closing both the police department and the city golf course to reduce costs before deciding to keep the department open without salary increases.
- The chief claimed the department had relied on community fundraising for equipment and equipment purchases rather than city appropriations and alleged city officials pressured the department to generate revenue through traffic enforcement.
- Florence County Sheriff’s Office will provide law enforcement services to Johnsonville, population approximately 1,300, after a two-week transition period during which Douglas will patrol alone.
JOHNSONVILLE, S.C. — The Johnsonville Police Department lost its entire workforce after all three personnel resigned in the wake of a city council decision to preserve the agency but reject salary increase requests.
Chief Ron Douglas announced his resignation along with that of the department’s two officers after the city council voted June 30 to maintain the police department’s operational status while declining to approve raises. Douglas had requested $24,000 in annual salary increases for himself and the other officers, according to media reports.
Douglas attributed the resignations to multiple factors. He cited financial hardship, strained working relationships with the city council, and disagreement over how the city funded departmental operations. Douglas stated that city council members had discussed closing both the police department and the city’s golf course as cost-cutting measures before voting to keep the department operational.
Douglas alleged that the department had relied heavily upon community fundraising to finance equipment and apparatus purchases rather than appropriations from city budgets. The chief stated that citizens donated funds annually for equipment the city had declined to provide.
The chief further alleged that city officials had placed pressure on the police department to generate revenue through traffic enforcement operations. Douglas stated he believed such a practice was unlawful and contrary to professional policing standards. “That’s against the law and that’s immoral,” Douglas told media outlets regarding the revenue enforcement pressure.
After all three resignations took effect, Douglas agreed to continue patrol services alone for two weeks before the Florence County Sheriff’s Office assumes responsibility for providing law enforcement to Johnsonville residents. The transition will conclude Johnsonville’s standalone police operations.
Johnsonville has an approximate population of 1,300 residents according to 2020 census data.