Former Swansea police officer drops charge against Mayor McKnight prior to Thursday afternoon municipal court session

Swansea, SC 11/18/2024 (Paul Kirby) – The former Swansea Police Department sergeant who resigned recently to accept a similar job with the South Congaree Police Department, Nol processed a court summons (ticket) he had written to Swansea Mayor Viola McKnight just prior to the case being called in municipal court last Thursday afternoon. The phrase Nol process is Latin and means unwilling to pursue. Minor or misdemeanor charges can be Nol processed by the officer who originally wrote the summons or ticket. In more serious cases such as a felony, the decision to Nol prosses charges are made by the most senior prosecutor working on the case.

To make this as understandable as possible, Sergeant Ty McComas who was with the Swansea Police Department at the time, had cited the mayor for failing to run a meeting as spelled out in detail by town ordinances. He then left or resigned from the Swansea Department taking a similar job with the South Congaree Police Department.

When the case involving Swansea’s Mayor Viola McKnight came up during last Thursday’s court session, McComas showed up to appear to testify as did Mayor McKnight. As is her rite, Mayor McKnight brought a member of the SC Legislature who is an attorney to represent her. Prior to McKnight’s case being called, McKnight’s attorney asked to speak with Seargent McComas privately. Once the 2 men met, the mayor’s case was called by the clerk. McComas told the judge that he was Nol processing the citation and had no interest in pursuing it any further. The judge then dismissed the case.

After court adjourned, Swansea’s new Police Chief William “Bill” Charton commented, “In South Carolina, a municipal mayor can indeed receive a ticket from a police officer for an ordinance infraction. South Carolina law does not grant mayors immunity from local ordinance enforcement. Police officers are expected to uphold ordinances fairly, regardless of an individual's role or status. Although there could be pressure or influence from high-ranking officials, ethical and legal obligations require officers to enforce the law equally, including against elected officials like mayors.”

At this point, it remains to be seen what will become of this issue in Swansea and the complaint of Councilmember Michael Luongo who said that the mayor was keeping him from being heard during council meetings. On Monday, Luongo said in an interview with The Lexington Ledger, “At some point, the mayor will need to recognize that she has no more power than any other member of the council. That’s how our government is set up. We have hired a capable town administrator and with some guidance from the council, the administrator will run the day-to-day operations of the town.