Palmetto police captain placed on administrative leave pending internal affairs investigation
Palmetto Police Captain Stephen Greer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation into possible policy violations.
Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler confirmed Greer is under investigation, but he said he could not elaborate on the circumstances of the investigation at this time. Tyler was able to say that the investigation is not criminal in nature and is being handled internally.
“No, it’s not a criminal investigation,” Tyler said. “He’s on paid administration leave for a potential administration policy violation. I hope to have this wrapped up within the next couple of weeks. Captain Greer holds a key position in this department, so I want this dealt with so we can move on, whatever the outcome may be.”
Tyler said the investigation is ongoing with a review of records and interviews with department employees.
Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant would only confirm the investigation is taking place, but she declined to comment further. Bryant would only say this is the first incident involving Greer since she was elected mayor more than eight years ago.
Greer became entangled in controversy in 2002 when he was accused of being sexually involved with a 16-year-old girl. However, the case was never prosecuted. Greer was initially fired by former Police Chief Garry Lowe, who determined Greer had texted the young girl 190 times in a three-month period.
Lowe said then that Greer’s actions were unbecoming of a law enforcement officer and that was grounds enough for termination. Greer fought the termination and was reinstated.
“He’s had some stuff going way way back,” Tyler said Tuesday. “It was quite a long time ago.”
Greer was promoted to captain from detective sergeant in March of 2015 and is a 27-year veteran of the department.
Mark Young: 941-745-7041, @urbanmark2014
This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Palmetto police captain placed on administrative leave pending internal affairs investigation."