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This Tuesday, Sullivan’s Island Town Council accepted the resignation of a scandal-scarred police chief and bona fide sexual predator after awarding him a proverbial ‘jumbo check’ for six years of reprehensible misconduct across South Carolina.
Chris Griffin, longstanding chief of the Sullivan’s Island Police Department (SIPD), stands accused of sexually harassing, intimidating and stalking multiple subordinates by way of FordPass and Axon technology financed by the taxpayers he swore to protect.
On January 1, 2024, the disgraced chief was placed on administrative leave following a myriad of sexual misconduct allegations from males and females alike. He was thereafter placed on administrative leave without pay amid the continuance of a tight-lipped personnel investigation.
Emphasis on “tight-lipped …“
After exclusively publishing the sworn complaints against Griffin in an article entitled ‘Pervert on Patrol,‘ FITSNews was inundated with additional accusations against the veteran officer turned chief.
“With your article coming out, it sped up the investigation,” one individual confided. “The day after FITSNews dropped ‘Pervert on Patrol,’ they came in and grabbed his car, all of his equipment and everything with his name on it.”
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HOW IT STARTED …
(Provided)
On January 16, 2018, Sullivan’s Island unanimously appointed Griffin as its permanent police chief after observing his interim leadership of the agency over the previous nine months. Ironically, Griffin took over the department in the aftermath of the alleged sex scandal and subsequent resignation of his predecessor, Danny Howard.
“After careful review of our leading candidates, we were convinced that Chief Griffin was an ideal selection,” said mayor Pat O’Neil at the time. “He has served the town for 21 years. His nine months as interim chief afforded us the opportunity to see his leadership in action.”
Immediately thereafter, though, the “ideal” candidate was banned from the S.C. Police Chief’s Association (SCPCA) for sending “unsolicited sexually explicit text messages” to two females which later resulted in a widely publicized lawsuit containing graphic exhibits.
“Even before that, we knew he was a pervert,” added another individual. “Chief Griffin led with fear and intimidation while preying on females. Those who didn’t fall in line were subject to endless harassment and intimidation at the taxpayers expense.”
Come January 2021, Griffin received a $417,000 loan with one of his subordinates, Sydney De Nett, in exchange for security interest in a property they co-owned. This, despite the existence of a publicly accessible town ordinance prohibiting such a relationship.
Town administrator Andy Benke supposedly notarized that loan prior to finding himself listed alongside Griffin in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former SIPD officer Amanda Capone — in which she was awarded $105,000 from the state’s insurance fund last November.
Beginning to see a pattern here? These issues were among the many exclusively reported by this outlet over and over and over and over again — without heed from Sullivan’s Island officials who insistently denied any wrongdoing under Griffin’s leadership.
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HOW IT WENT …
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According to a source familiar with SIPD, Griffin was infatuated by a patrol officer who joined the department in August 2023. This source told FITSNews that Griffin was committed to “fucking it” upon her employment, and thereby deployed … the toys.
“He kept the sex doll in his office,” our source alleged. “That being said, he put an inflatable unicorn in the woman’s locker room. Then he would shove inflatable, stuffed toys down her toilet — like an inflatable snake. Mainly inflatable snakes.”
Fueling further complaints? Griffin purportedly left his undergarments in the woman’s assigned shower while she was on patrol with a partner-turned-witness last winter. This, prompting her to report the incident to then-deputy chief Glenn Meadows.
“Meadows got onto Chris immediately,” the source continued. “Unfortunately, Chris didn’t take the criticism too well and got onto [the female officer] for reporting it. We watched him get in her face and cuss her out. He told her, ‘it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not that big of a deal.’”
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According to the source, Griffin went so far as to track the woman’s every move — both on and off-duty. He allegedly followed her with his unmarked squad car, and went so far as to stakeout her home … and her dependents.
Within this timeframe, SIPD officers reportedly discovered Griffin was logging into their body-worn and dash-mounted police cameras indiscriminately. This, of particular interest considering officers wear body-cameras into bathrooms and stow said cameras near their assigned shower stalls.
At that point, the alleged target of Griffin’s harassment had reached a breaking point …
“The female officer then went to HR and filed a complaint,” stated another source familiar with the situation. “The flood gates opened after that. She gave multiple people the courage to come forward and multiple complaints were filed as a result … he even harassed a secretary at the Mount Pleasant Police Department.”
Of interest? Additional complaints include allegations of Griffin stalking the same subordinate and later fondling her while “helping” put on body armor — as well as allegations that he used a hidden camera to record a separate female.
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HOW IT’S GOING …
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On Tuesday (February 20, 2024), Griffin resigned from his enervated position ahead of town council’s discussion of their personnel investigation into him. Upon his resignation, town council unanimously elevated Meadows to SIPD chief of police.
“I just want to assure you that I will ethically and with profound integrity carry out my duties as this town’s chief of police,” said Meadows following a standing ovation from constituents Tuesday night.
As for Griffin? The “Pervert on Patrol” left Tuesday’s council meeting with a $10,000 payout in lieu of any criminal or administrative punishment following “21 years of hell,” as stated by one of his alleged victims following the proposal by mayor pro tem Justin Novak.
The five-figure payout – intended to avoid “incursion of unnecessary cost and expenses” or “further disruption to the town’s operations” – was passed by council unanimously.
“It’s already such a better place without Griffin,” one of our sources noted. “We’re all enjoying doing our jobs again. We’re enjoying coming into work again. Glenn Meadows is a phenomenal leader and were so lucky to have him … We cut the cancer out.”
If you or someone you know has information related to this case, please contact the author of this report. As our audience is well aware, we religiously protect the anonymity of our sources.
Moreover, if you know of similar cases that deserve investigative scrutiny, please reach out to FITSNews. We’re not only committed to exposing nefarious activity within government — but are steadfast on holding our law enforcement officers accountable.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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3 comments
One would think that the badges that knew what he was doing had an obligation to arrest him long ago.
By not doing anything did they become enablers and accessories to the crimes?
Any cop who was aware should be immediately fired and investigated.
“We did an internal investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing.”
Great job FITS news. Ridiculous they didn’t self purge this monster but I’m glad it got done in the end.