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McColl, South Carolina, is one of those tiny Southern towns that has a history of being something at their founding. Situated just about eight miles from the North Carolina border, in 1874, McColl had been lucky enough to be the spot chosen for a depot to be built on a new railway line running from Fayetteville to the Marlboro County seat of Bennettsville. It became the northern SC hub for commerce, as shops and businesses clustered around the railroad. Additionally, local farmers now had a much easier and faster way to get their produce to ships out of the port at Wilmington, N.C. 

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Glorious mansions still to be seen testify to the wealth that the cotton fields and easy access to markets around McColl created.

That transportation link helped assure McColl of first dibs as America began to industrialize.

The Pee Dee country town suffered the ebbs and flows of commerce and the changing face of industry that has left so many small places that once proudly boasted booming furniture or textile mills in the mid-20th century to rusticate and fade as livelihoods and futures went elsewhere. 

In McColl, shuttering the textile mills that had once provided the lifeline that kept the burgh humming signaled the end of their boom times.

McColl is also the home of the Pee Dee Indian Tribe, the small group of descendants of the area’s original Indigenous inhabitants, and federally recognized as a native group in 2021. There are less than 200 members of the tribe.

…The Pee Dee Indian Tribe (PDIT) is a small American Indian tribe located along the Pee Dee River within northeastern South Carolina’s Pee Dee region. While today the tribe consists of less than 150 enrolled Pee Dee, the tribe was once a profound cultural and political power in the region. In fact, the cultural & political significance of the Pee Dee people to the area is why Europeans named the Pee Dee River & the Pee Dee region of South Carolina after the tribe. The tribal government’s offices are located on land awarded to the tribe in Marlboro County, South Carolina.  Marlboro County has served as the tribe’s official seat of government since 1976. 

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Today, McColl sits with a smidge over two thousand people living in the city. It lost almost a fifth of its population in the decades between the 2000 (2,498 people, 981 households, and 669 families residing in the town.) and 2020 (2,070 people, 812 households, and 537 families residing in the town.) censuses. So, you can see the trajectory for growth isn’t optimal.

And while there seems to be some stirrings of interest as far as smaller businesses coming back to the little town and its undeniable quaint charm, recent news makes one wonder how long that will last.

It seems to me folks contemplating a move would be asking why the entire police force of a teensy little place walks out. 

And not on strike, but permanently.

A tiny town in Marlboro County will be without a single police officer as of Nov. 23 after its entire department resigned, with the police chief citing harassment from a town councilman as the reason.

McColl, with about 2,000 residents, is squeezed along the state line roughly between Myrtle Beach and Charlotte. It now is searching for a new police chief, officers and other help after the mass resignations, which Mayor George Garner said was expected.

Garner said he had been aware of Bob Hale’s intention to retire as police chief since he submitted a letter of resignation on Oct. 31.

…On Nov. 21, Hale elaborated on his decision in a Facebook post, saying his resignation was spurred by harassment and personal attacks on his character from a town council member. Hale did not identify the elected official.

“For months, I have endured unwarranted and malicious behavior aimed at undermining my integrity and leadership,” Hale wrote in the post. “These actions have not only affected me personally but have also created a toxic atmosphere that has hindered the department’s ability to function effectively.”

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One officer resigned with the chief and the other three officers tendered their collective “We quits” right before a council meeting.

The mayor is working to assure residents that, while he looks for a new police force, the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office will be covering the area.

Residents aren’t really sold on that idea, but Mayor George Garner says it’ll work out if everyone can just behave themselves.

WHUT

Obviously, there are some people, even in a small town, with behavioral issues – human nature being what it is. 

And a news story about a tempest in a small town teapot would be just another sideshow if it wasn’t for the fact that Mayor Garner is getting to be an old hand at going through listings on Indeed.com for cops.

This is McColl’s second police force mass exit in just over a year.

The man had his township’s police force walk off the job in June of 2023. Only in that instance, the police chief at the time blamed Mayor Garner for creating a hostile work environment instead of some unnamed council member.

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The town of McColl’s police “was forced to resign due to a hostile work environment caused by the [town’s] mayor,” according to documents News13 obtained from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.

The departure of Xzavier Williams on Monday means the town of about 2,000 residents no longer has a certified officer in the department.

A town official confirmed to News13 on Wednesday that Williams was no longer with the department but would not elaborate on the circumstances. He had been the only certified officer in the department.

The earlier 2023 group of officers also felt misused and abused, while that police chief grew ever more frustrated as he got shunted aside so Mayor Garner could pick and choose who got hired.

Hiring ‘certified’ law enforcement officers has been a challenge. Keeping them has been impossible.

…Williams, who is believed to be the youngest active police chief in South Carolina at 26, began serving as chief in McColl on November 28. Since then, Williams said Garner has been a factor in four officers exits and has since taken over hiring duties from the chief.

“I am/was working to hire more certified officers but the mayor has taken over the police department in search of his own officers to hire,” Williams told News13 Thursday. “Despite hiring a department head – the chief of police – to do the job due to wanting to rid me and all the officers hired.”

This debacle a year ago also explains a comment made by an officer who just resigned (speaking in the interview above), saying she had “come with” the police chief in the current imbroglio. When Chief Hale came in as a replacement for these June 2023 walkouts, he must have brought at least a few hand-picked officers with him to the new gig.

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What a made-for-TV Schlitz show.

What classic small-town intrigue.

How does the mayor still have a job? Or the council members their seats?

Oh, hello – SIX police chiefs in FOUR YEARS?

…McColl’s mayor, George Garner, acknowledged the perilous state of public safety. He confirmed the full withdrawal of local policing, stating, “We are actively working to hire new police officers.” Until new officers are brought on board, Garner assured residents the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office would cover McColl. He urged the townspeople to be on their best behavior, indicating they need to show the county they can manage without direct law enforcement during the holidays.

The repercussions of this crisis extend beyond mere police service availability. The McColl Police Department has seen significant turnover in leadership, with Chief Hale being the sixth chief to occupy the role within the past four years. Frequent changes at the top have likely contributed to the instability felt within the department and the community at large.

…This unfortunate turn of events serves as both a call to action for community members and local leaders. The need for accountability and actionable plans is more urgent than ever as fragile public safety hangs in the balance. The narrative surrounding law enforcement’s role, funding avenues, and community relationships will play out against the backdrop of McColl’s struggle to regain stability.

Residents, council members, and potential new recruits will all play integral roles as McColl moves forward from this crisis. Town officials are hopeful for quick resolution but recognize the path to rebuilding morale and assurance within the community will be challenging.

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The path to rebuilding ‘among the community’ might be challenging, but if any ‘potential new recruits‘ do the least little bit of Googling, getting replacement butts in those police cars is going to be the problem.

There are plenty of police departments in the country crying for help where the drama factor doesn’t peg quite as high for that princely $20 hr. they pay officers in McColl.

Is Boss Hogg alive and well, or does the wee town in the liberal Democratic Marlboro County stronghold have a progressive problem?

Maybe both?

Or maybe something more Southern Gothic/Faulknerish –  woof. 

Wouldn’t that be something?

I hope everyone behaves in the meantime.