Why are some Bluffton police officers resigning? Here’s what internal emails tell us
A slew of resignations at the Bluffton Police Department since Chief Stephenie Price arrived in October worried the mayor and prompted a letter from an outgoing officer blaming the chief for a toxic work environment, documents show.
Emails obtained through a public records request show Mayor Lisa Sulka found the resignations “very concerning,” and asked the chief to respond to the questions about Price’s leadership of the more than 50-officer department. In May, three officers resigned in four days, and in total at least eight officers have resigned in the nine months since Price took over the department.
It’s not clear that all officers resigned for the same reasons. In an interview last month, Price said the problems Bluffton is facing are no different from other departments. Officers are leaving law enforcement because of the difficult atmosphere they’re facing nationwide.
Protests across the country last year stemming from the death of George Floyd at the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin led to efforts to reform and restrict law enforcement. That, not Bluffton’s work environment, is responsible for officers leaving, the chief said.
On May 11, after the third officer resignation in four days, Sulka wrote of her concern over the trend and called for a meeting with town officials and the chief. The mayor said she knew other Bluffton officers were considering leaving because she’s been asked for letters of reference, according to an email.
Price said she met with Sulka and town council to talk about the resignations, where she cited nationwide retirements and resignations of police officers, as well as new recruiting initiatives in Bluffton.
The following week, outgoing Cpl. Bill Bates sent a laundry list of complaints about the department to all town council officials, in which he said he was serving as a voice for officers who want to speak up but fear retaliation.
Bates blamed Chief Price and her command staff, which include Capt. Scott Chandler and Lt. Christian Gonzalez.
The large number of resignations “in such a short period of time for such a small department is ALARMING,” Bates wrote on May 19. “No real concern or interest to find out what is wrong and how things can be made better .... Just continued failed leadership is what it appears to be. This is what pushed me over the edge.”
Price said Bates’ concerns seemed isolated to him.
“I talked to everyone of our officers, both one-on-one and in group settings, after the email. I asked them if they have any concerns about this,” Price said. “They said ... ‘he does not speak for us.’”
‘Others are looking elsewhere’
Interim Town Manager Scott Marshall emailed town officials on May 11 that Cpl. Peter James, who had been with the department for over 2 1/2 years, resigned and would be joining the Hardeeville Police Department.
“This is very concerning to me and feel we need to discuss quickly,” Mayor Sulka wrote back less than an hour later. She said Chief Price needed to arrange a time to meet with town council and their attorney “ASAP.”
“He is one of the best and I am under the impression others are looking elsewhere,” Sulka said. “The culture of our [department] seems to be changing and I know council doesn’t want that to happen.”
Four days before the email, two other officers had resigned, one of which was also going to Hardeeville.
Sulka did not answer three calls from reporters over the past two weeks.
Chief Price said in an interview that she met with the council about this a few times after Sulka’s email. Price said she explained how police departments nationwide are having issues with retention.
“It’s what’s going on in law enforcement now. Not just with the Chauvin trial,” she said. “Law enforcement is under a microscope, not only by citizens but also the media and itself.”
A summer of mass protests, calls for police reform and COVID-19 seem to have taken a toll on police departments, according to recent research.
The rate of retirements rose 45% at some departments compared to the year prior, according to a survey of 200 police departments by the Police Executive Research Forum.
Additionally, the survey found resignations increased 18% from the prior year. Hiring slowed by 5%, the group said.
“It really is bad out there,” the chief said.
Price said she started the job with an officer deficit. The department has six openings, she said, with four applicants moving through the hiring process.
To recruit and retain officers, the agency is trying things like multi-department hiring events, adding a new gym and a physical activity program, and teaching officers to speak Spanish, Price said.
“We’re working to get our ranks built,” she said.
‘Toxic’ workplace?
One outgoing officer blamed the agency’s turnover not on national trends, but on Price and her leadership team.
Cpl. Bill Bates resigned on May 7 and wrote a scathing letter to all of town council more than a week later, according to documents released as part of the Freedom of Information Act, calling the department “toxic” for officers.
His main complaints include a lack of transparency and a clique in the leadership, where certain officers are preferred for arbitrary reasons.
Bates pointed to the demotion of Capt. Joe Babkiewicz, who was part of the leadership team known as the command staff under the past two chiefs: Joseph Manning and Chris Chapmond.
On April 30, 2021, Price announced that Babkiewicz was demoted two ranks, from police captain to sergeant, which is a significant reduction in responsibility.
He now works in the patrol division supervising officers on patrol. His previous responsibilities: overseeing investigations and emergency management, among other things, according to a former Bluffton officer who recently quit. The officer requested anonymity because they fear retribution at their current law enforcement job for speaking publicly.
The demotion of the longtime officer came as a shock to the rank and file, according to Bates’ letter, and went unexplained.
Asked about this in an interview, Price said Babkiewicz was demoted “due to deficient judgment and decision making” and a “culmination of things.” She did not explain further.
The letter also accuses the chief of making no effort to keep experienced people from leaving and of disrespecting them as they left.
In late March, a public information officer of 5 1/2 years left in tears after she submitted her two-week resignation notice. She was told to pack her things and was escorted out of the building, according to the letter and interviews.
An officer, Sgt. Walker Michaud, left the Bluffton department on May 6 after nearly six years to work for the Hardeeville Police Department. According to Bates’ letter, a member of Price’s command staff, Lt. Christian Gonzalez, commented, “No big deal, he’s replaceable,” which Bates called “despicable.”
Price called much of Bates’ letter “not factual.”
“Every time you get a change of command staff, some folks resign [and] some folks get hired on,” Price said. “That’s part of the culture of law enforcement.”
‘Not an easy life’
Bates’ letter also said the department’s evidence room has a mold problem and that an officer working there must wear a hazmat suit.
Price said that once she was alerted, the mold issue was “handled right away” with mold remediation.
Bates’ letter also said Bluffton police officers haven’t had a pay raise in two years and accused Price of misspending on her office instead.
According to documents obtained by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette, Price renovated her office with $13,000 in new furniture, including a $3,500 sleeper couch, in December 2020. Price said the furniture in the chief’s office before was taken from other parts of the department and had to be returned.
She said the new sleeper couch is because her home is still being built in Bluffton, and she needs a place to sleep on long nights.
“Policing is a 24-hour job,” Price said.
The chief said she recognizes morale is low because of national trends and is trying a number of initiatives to help ease the burden. The agency is hiring a community mental health advocate to reduce the times officers have to respond to calls related to mental health.
She said the department is also putting 50% of operational staff through crisis intervention training to better equip them for mental health calls.
“It is not an easy life. It’s hard missing birthday parties,” Price said. “Folks were at home [during COVID-19] while we were at work. It’s not an easy career choice, but it is rewarding. “
