COLUMBIA --- A published report indicates the head of the State Law Enforcement Division bought new sport utility vehicles and 175 military-grade combat rifles in the midst of his agency's job cuts and restructuring.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Sunday that the purchases came as the agency axed more than 100 positions and restructured departments to focus more on gangs and violence.
According to the newspaper's findings, SLED director Reggie Lloyd bought new $30,000 Chevy Tahoes for himself and nine of his top commanders. In its request to the State Budget and Control Board, the agency said the vehicles will "be used in the performance of a variety of law enforcement assignments ..."
Documents show the agency in previous years mainly had bought $18,000 Chevy Impalas and $21,000 Ford Crown Victorias.
Mr. Lloyd said SLED needs an assortment of vehicles to do undercover work and surveillance and that adding Tahoes to the mix would bring variety to the agency's fleet. He said they would be useful when commanders go to crime scenes with bulky equipment, tents and fold-out tables. His agents also needed new GPS devices and BlackBerry phones.
"This is SLED," he said. "We should not show up and be Mayberry. We should be better equipped than everybody. Otherwise, why do they need to call us?"
The newspaper also reported SLED spent more than $307,000 on high-powered rifles, including $248,694 for 125 Heckler & Koch rifles and sights. It also bought 50 Bushmaster rifles for $59,200.
Because of budget cuts, however, the agency hasn't been able to buy enough ammunition for the rifles to train some of its agents on how to use the firearms and deploy them in the field. Mr. Lloyd did add that some agents are trained and ready to operate the firearms and that the agency will distribute ammunition soon.
The changes have triggered grumbling from former and current SLED agents who say Mr. Lloyd has spent too much on equipment and administrators at the expense of field agents.
In an interview Friday, Mr. Lloyd said he needed to push some agents out of their comfort zones to better equip the agency to deal with the state's explosion in gang violence. He said he showed some agents the door.
When Gov. Mark Sanford appointed Mr. Lloyd to SLED's top spot last year, the agency had 613 full-time employees and a $64 million budget, according to data obtained by the newspaper. SLED lost $9 million during the past year, forcing Mr. Lloyd to eventually cut 104 positions.
Comments
The vehicles might could be justified. The new weapons are a complete missuse of funds. Neither of the above can replace the men and women working in the department to bring people to justice. This SLED Chief has set the wrong priorities for this deparment and needs to have his priorities redirected immediately.
What else would one expect of this "Chief". He and his pals will be riding in style at the expense of job cuts.
I'm curious of the bidding process for the equipment. Was there one or were there kickbacks?
More than a decade past, I questioned why the Columbia Cty Sheriff's Dept. bought Expeditions for supervisors. They replied they could take extra equipment to a scene if necessary. It was funny then and funny today to hear the SLED chief coming up with excuses.
This is silly. Realisticly, how much gear (tents and fold-out tables) and "bulky equipment" (Blackberrys and GPSs) do you think that Chief Lloyd or his top Nine commanders will ever bring to a crime scene? Unless it is a high profile case, they are not likely to respond at all. But if they respond, I am sure someone else would be bringing the bulky equipment. As the Chief and his command staff would be too busy commanding and directing to set up tents and tables, and pass out equipment.
I can see buying the AR's but not really the H&K's they are probabably just pistols and you can get very nice 9mm and 40-45 cal pistols for less.
Oh, I just remembered the funniest excuse the Col. Cty. Sheriff’s Office used to justify the Expeditions. CC said maintenance costs were lower with the dramatically more expensive Expeditions than with the Crown Victorias and they would actually end up saving money. Instead of dissecting that nonsense into ridiculous pieces, I simply said if it were such a money saving measure we should replace all our cars with them and let the state guys know what a smart move it was. Heh, it appears a state guy did get the idea even if it is another state. Now who says history doesn’t repeat itself?
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