Sullivan’s Island police chief placed on paid leave amid investigation into personnel matter

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Sullivan’s Island Police Chief Chris Griffin has been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation into a personnel matter.

Town Administrator Andy Benke told News 2 that Chief Griffin was place on leave “a couple of weeks ago,” but the town would not go into details about the investigation, other than to say there was an internal investigation.

Town officials say Griffin was initially placed on paid administrative leave on January 1, and later placed on administrative leave without pay on January 17.

Deputy Chief Glenn Meadows is currently overseeing the department.

Griffin has been on the Sullivan’s Island Police force since 1997.

While circumstances of the current personnel matter are not clear, Griffin has a history of complaints filed against him during his time with the department.

The town launched an investigation into a personnel matter against Griffin in December 2019, stemming from a previous incident that allegedly occurred during a vendor exposition the month prior. He remained on the job during that investigation.

A lawsuit filed against the town and Griffin accused him of sending inappropriate messages to two women who were working at the South Carolina Police Chiefs Association Annual Leadership Conference in Myrtle Beach.