2 former Hardeeville police plead guilty to shaking down Hispanic motorists

Two former Hardeeville police officers pleaded guilty Monday to charges they stole cash taken from motorists during traffic stops, charges that stem from an investigation by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.

Judge J. Ernest Kinard sentenced Tony Pollen of Ridgeland to five years of probation and 500 hours of community service. Pollen also was fined $500 and ordered to make restitution of $307, according to a press release from 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone's office.

Pollen, who worked with the Hardeeville Police Department from 2002 to 2006, was arrested in January and charged with misconduct in public office and embezzling more than $5,000 in public funds.

Pollen admitted targeting Hispanic drivers and said he accepted cash in exchange for not giving them a ticket, according to the release.

Kinard sentenced the other former officer, Christian R. Nollinger of Bluffton, to six months of probation, four days of community service and a $150 fine. Nollinger was a patrol sergeant at the Hardeeville Police Department from July 2006 to October 2007, when he was fired following the state investigation. He was arrested and charged with misconduct in public office, a misdemeanor charge that carries a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in prison.

In January 2007, Nollinger stopped a Hispanic driver for speeding and discovered the man also didn't have a driver's license, the release said. He issued the man two state uniform traffic tickets and accepted a cash bond for each citation.

Nollinger turned over the $128 bond for the driver's license violation to the Hardeeville Clerk of Court Office but destroyed the speeding ticket and kept the $128 bond for that citation, according to the release.

Stone, Pollen and Nollinger could not be reached for comment Monday.

Before 2008, Hardeeville routinely collected cash from motorists who were stopped for traffic violations, mainly those deemed flight risks or without a connection to the area.

If the ticketed motorists failed to appear in court or settle their tickets, they'd be found guilty and forfeit the money they had handed over.

Hardeeville stopped allowing officers to collect the cash in December 2007 after the state Attorney General's Office ruled that state law allows only Highway Patrol troopers to collect money.