by TChris

Did Police Chief Edward Whitlock of Ridgeville, S.C. check Timothy Graves' references before hiring him as a police officer?

Last month, James Williams and two other town councilmen tried to fire Graves after The (Charleston) Post and Courier published articles about how officers who had committed crimes or were involved in misconduct have been hired at other law agencies. ... Graves was fired by North Charleston after an investigation found he accepted money for off-duty work while on duty for the city.

Whitlock defended the hiring, arguing that he has to overlook a few "blemishes" on an officer's record because the town doesn't pay well enough to attract law-abiding officers. He pointed out that Graves was the best of the three applicants. One had unspecified "financial problems" while the third was indicted for reckless homicide. But there's reason to believe that Whitlock isn't the world's best judge of character.