Chief Says She Needs Backup; City Leaders Agree But Hiring Tough
By Jason Hardin, The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
LANE, S.C. - A large dent in a metal filing cabinet silently attests to the changing world of Lane Police Chief Shirley McKnight.
The dent has been there since September, when a man she was arresting decided to ram McKnight’s head into the cabinet.
The 55-year-old chief wasn’t seriously hurt and the man later turned himself in, but the point was made. Anything can happen when you’re on your own.
Lane, a small town in a rural stretch of pine-thick flatlands not far from the Santee River, doesn’t have the budget for a big police department. McKnight is the department. She’s a force of one.
But that, she says, won’t do. Not when a traffic stop might turn up crack cocaine and a handgun. Not when backup from the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office is 12 miles of rural two-lane blacktop away.
“I’m out there alone, by myself all the time,” McKnight said.
Since a T-shirt factory closed awhile back, a company that makes flags is about the sole industry in Lane. There isn’t much tax money to hire anyone else. Town leaders agree the chief needs help.
McKnight, whose close-cropped black hair is flecked with gray, isn’t thinking about leaving. She grew up not far down the road. The town is home to her.
But things are not quite the same since the dent was made in the filing cabinet.
“The feeling is not the same inside,” she said. “I used to be fearless.”
Years back, when the train began barreling by instead of stopping in Lane, the town slid into isolation. It’s an outpost of 585 people surrounded by piney woods clear-cut in strips.
“Lane used to be quite a town. The town just died. Just died,” said McKnight. “Nobody comes to Lane unless you are lost or visiting somebody.”
Lane has a general store, a club and a Town Hall under a massive oak tree. Those who don’t work at the flag plant might drive into Kingstree or St. Stephen for jobs.
There is domestic abuse, drugs, burglaries, rape and vandalism. There is a gang. There have been shootings.
Hank Benbow owns Hank’s Auto Sales, one of the handful of businesses in town. He says he has had problems with break-ins. The town has kids who sometimes get into trouble, he said.
With one police officer, it’s too easy for criminals to figure out when McKnight isn’t working. When the town had an extra officer a few years ago, it made a big difference, Benbow said.
McKnight slowly cruises roads she knows by heart - some are paved, some not. She passes burnt-out clubs, brick churches, houses where she checks on elderly inhabitants. The streets are quiet. Dogs watch as the cruiser glides by. Some residents raise a hand in greeting.
The town is not unwilling to hire another officer. But it’s hard to keep anyone around. McKnight said the town is offering $16,000 a year for the position.
“Lane is not their first choice,” she said of potential job candidates.
Funding for a second officer used to come from a federal grant designed to help put more police officers on the street. The town hasn’t received that grant in recent years, however.
Town councilwoman Lynda Wheeler said the town needs that money to hire someone. Otherwise, it can only afford a part-time officer. “I think little towns, communities like us, get overlooked,” Wheeler said.
Those who do apply sometimes aren’t exactly the stars of the police academy. One applicant had a suspended driver’s license. Another had the wrong kind of law enforcement experience.
“I had one with a rap sheet so long, I wanted to interview him and say, `Why would you fill out an application with this rap sheet?’ ” McKnight said.
Despite it all, McKnight doesn’t plan to leave. She could work elsewhere if she wanted.
“Shirley does an excellent job, a wonderful job, but she does need assistance,” Wheeler said.