After more than a year of staffing shortages, leadership turnover and increasing reliance on county deputies, the Town of Summerton has approved dissolving its police department and contracting with the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services.
Town Council approved the second and final reading of an ordinance dissolving the Summerton Police Department during a special called meeting June 16. Councilwoman Jazlynn Bowman confirmed the measure passed without public comment.
The vote clears the way for an agreement between the town, Clarendon County and the sheriff's office that will place county deputies in charge of policing services within the town beginning July 1.
Under the agreement, Summerton will pay Clarendon County $200,000 annually for law enforcement coverage. The contract runs through June 30, 2027, and automatically renews each year unless terminated with 180 days notice.
Sheriff Tim Baxley presented the agreement to Clarendon County Council on June 8, describing the move as the culmination of ongoing challenges facing the town's police department.
"Summerton's been running into a bad situation for the last probably year and a half, two years," Baxley told council. "We've been over trying to cover their shortfall on the police department."
Baxley said the sheriff's office has increasingly responded to calls in Summerton and averaged more than 100 calls per month within the town limits during the previous two months.
The agreement will allow the sheriff's office to hire two additional deputies assigned primarily to Summerton and its immediate vicinity. While those deputies may be used elsewhere in the county during emergencies, Baxley said the goal is to maintain a consistent law enforcement presence in and around the town.
The decision follows more than a year of staffing challenges and leadership turnover within the department.
In February 2025, three Summerton police officers resigned and then-Police Chief Donell Dixon announced his retirement. At the time, Mayor Keith Bowman said the town would work with the sheriff's office to provide temporary coverage while recruiting new officers.
The department's instability continued in May 2025 when newly appointed Police Chief Alex White resigned one day after being named chief. In his resignation letter, White cited what he described as poor working conditions and criticized town administration. The following day, Bowman announced the hiring of former Summerton officer LeShawn Green as interim chief.
Town agendas reflected the department's gradual decline over the following months. Green was the last police chief identified by name on a regular council agenda in December 2025. From January through April 2026, the police department continued to appear under departmental reports. By May and June, agendas listed the "Police Department (No Report)," while the chief's position was shown as vacant.
The contract also provides access to specialized resources including criminal investigations, crime scene processing, SWAT operations, narcotics enforcement and victim assistance services.
The agreement further calls for the transfer of police department equipment used for law enforcement operations, including vehicles, radios, weapons and duty gear, to Clarendon County.
Baxley told county council the arrangement is similar to the agreement the sheriff's office has maintained with the Town of Turbeville since 2019, when that municipality dissolved its own police department.
Although the June 16 vote officially dissolves the department, the move largely formalizes a transition already underway as sheriff's deputies assumed an increasingly prominent role in policing the town over the past year.
