ABBEVILLE — Mike Hardy and William "Bill" Spearman are running against each other for the position of Abbeville police chief. They both shared how they plan to build trust with neighbors.
How do you plan on building trust between the police department and the community?
"More community orientated policing in the community. I have programs that I want to implement for the elderly as well as the youth in the community. I did a lot of my police work with the youth, and I feel that we can bring programs to the city that’s going to benefit all citizens, and I think there’s grants out there and other things we can use to get these programs off the ground," Spearman said.
"If we had a major crime, I went out to the crime— also to the scene— and I talked to the victims, the suspects, and I explained to them, you know, solving crime is not just a police department job. It’s the job of the citizens of this town. You know, if the citizens don’t participate, there’s no way 30 people can watch 12,000 people," Hardy said.
Each candidate addressed how they would handle incidents of police misconduct or brutality under their leadership.
How would you plan to handle incidents of police misconduct or brutality within the department?
"In front of the lieutenant, signs the complaint, writes out his statement, and says, ‘I want to make a complaint against this officer.’ The lieutenant that they sign the complaint in front of is a notary, so it’s all done nice and legal so he can make his formal complaint. We look into it. If I think it’s a serious enough offense, we bring it before our supervisory board," Hardy said.
"When I was chief the four years, I had a special unit designed to investigate these crimes and that people could come in and talk to. I also went to out places where they can tell us anonymously about things they want because a lot of people don’t feel comfortable coming to the police station and they don’t feel that the police are going to do anything," Spearman said.
Hardy and Spearman both said training their officers would be a priority under their leadership.
Election Day is May 16, but early voting begins Saturday, May 2.
The full interviews with each candidate are linked.
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