COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Legislators voted Tuesday to fire the director of South Carolina’s Department of Public Safety through the state budget, saying his micromanaging is decimating trooper ranks.
The House voted 76-20 to eliminate the director’s position and reduce the agency’s funding. If the clause remains in the 2017-18 budget, which is still being debated, it would effectively fire Leroy Smith, who’s been at the helm since November 2011.
Smith “has destroyed the morale at the highway patrol,” said House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, who proposed the budget amendment.
Smith is one of three black Cabinet leaders. Rutherford, who is black, said Smith told the Legislative Black Caucus earlier this year complaints about his leadership were due to racism. A House Oversight panel has been investigating the Department of Public Safety.
“As I delved down into the details and the data, it was clear he is the problem,” Rutherford said. “The reality is nobody wants to work for him, so they’re quitting. The reality is that the people he hires, he fires. It’s a total waste of state resources because we’re training these troopers for him to fire them for the silliest of reasons.”
Smith called the House vote “disappointing.”
He said in a statement that he and others at the agency “work very hard to make South Carolina a safe place,” and he’s eager to continue working with legislators.
Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, said Smith’s employment is a decision for the governor.
“Let the governor, who wants that responsibility and power, own it,” he said.
But Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, said the move represents legislators’ only recourse. Both former Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed Smith, and Gov. Henry McMaster, who ascended to the office in January, have rejected calls to fire the Cabinet director, he said.
“The budget process is the only way we have to speak our mind about what’s going on,” said Pitts, a retired Greenville police officer who leads a Ways and Means panel that writes state law enforcement sections of the budget.
McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said the governor takes legislators’ concerns seriously but is not considering firing Smith. Under current state law, the DPS director serves a four-year term, but the governor can fire the agency’s leader at any time for a variety of reasons.
“The governor is supportive of Director Smith,” Symmes said.
The Department of Public Safety oversees the state Highway Patrol, the state Transport Police and Bureau of Protective Services. Legislators say the problems are mainly with the troopers.
Pitts attributes high turnover in the Highway Patrol to low morale due to troopers’ fears of being fired and worries Smith won’t support their roadside decisions if someone complains.
Rep. Eddie Tallon said troopers have told him if a stop “looks like it will be a problem,” they return to their vehicle and drive away.
“The DPS under Director Smith is not safe,” said Tallon, R-Spartanburg, a retired State Law Enforcement Division officer.
According to House Oversight data, troopers wrote 164,000 fewer warnings and tickets from 2013 through 2016.
Rutherford also cited fatality statistics, with a 30 percent rise in collisions and fatalities in that same time frame.
But Rep. Justin Bamberg said much of that can be explained by the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.
“The tone of the agency among troopers is, ’If I make the smallest mistake, I can’t feed my children.’ That is a problem, but I don’t think this is the way to do it,” said the Democrat from Bamberg, whose brother is a trooper. “We can’t just beat up on Director Smith and the Highway Patrol. We’ve got to fix our roads.”
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