The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - With budget cuts thinning the ranks of the State Transport Police, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon wants his deputies to have the authority to check truck cargo for terror and other threats.
“Nobody knows what’s in there,” deputy Bob Nesbit said, watching an 18-wheeler rumble along Interstate 526. “What if that container was packed full of explosives? It could do a whole lot more damage than the Oklahoma bombing.”
The Port of Charleston is the nation’s fourth-busiest container port and the State Transport Police patrol roads and inspect big rigs for problems.
But budget cuts have left fewer transport officers on the highways and, since late March, accidents involving big trucks have claimed five lives in the Charleston area.
Cannon worries there could be catastrophic accidents involving hazardous materials or that terrorists could be transporting materials in trucks.
There have been no incidents yet but “just because we haven’t had one is no proof that we won’t,” Cannon said. “You have to have people concentrating on that and developing a sense of what to look for.”
Cannon has set up a commercial vehicle enforcement unit to watch for traffic violations by truckers, bus drivers and other commercial drivers.
He wants the unit to check cargo and inspect trucking logs as well. That would likely require a change in state law or an agreement authorizing deputies to act for the State Transport Police.
“I think the sheriff is right on the target,” said state Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston. “When it comes to stopping terrorism, it is not a job that is exclusive to state police, federal police or local police.”
Col. Anna Amos, deputy director of the State Transport Police, said while the agency welcomes help with traffic enforcement, state law gives transport officers sole authority to inspect commercial vehicles.
“There may be a way for (deputies and local police) to do more, but at this point, we are not able to go to that level with them,” she said.
The State Transport Police has only about 100 officers, down 30 during the past four years but Amos said the department has enough to do its job.
Rick Todd, president of the South Carolina Truckers Association, opposes letting deputies inspect cargo.
“You don’t want Barney Fife enforcing truck laws,” he said. “You can’t train these guys enough and if you do, you will be taking them away from what they were originally hired to do.”
He worries deputies will be more concerned about writing tickets.
“It could very easily be turned into a money hunt by a local law enforcement agency looking to raise revenue,” he said.
Cannon calls such worries “superficial” and said recent Charleston area accidents show the need for more enforcement.
Sheriff’s Lt. Mikel Benton said training deputies to check cargo allows authorities to know quickly if they have a hazardous situation in a crash. He said deputies sometimes must wait for hours to get documentation to know what was on a rig involved in an accident.