Lake City hires veteran officer to be new police chief

LAKE CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — After several months without a police chief, Lake City has hired a longtime member of the department to take over the leadership role.

Major Patrick Miles was sworn in at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. He has been with the department for 18 years and has already been leading the day-to-day operations of the department, officials said.

“I would like to remind the citizens that continuity command of the Lake City Police Department will remain the same it’s always been, intact, and it will continue to be intact,” Miles said. “My first official act as chief of police after being sworn in, I will promote Lt. Dedrick Graham to the position of major. He will become my second in command at the police department.”

Wednesday’s announcement comes after the city announced on Feb. 23 that Emmanuel Williams had been chosen as the new chief. However, he later withdrew after News13 learned three days after the announcement of his hiring that he had been fired from the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office in 2015 over an undisclosed policy violation.

That prompted Lake City officials to conduct a news conference in which Mayor Yamekia Robinson acknowledged that Williams’ hiring was announced before the completion of a background check.

Miles also has had troubles while with the department. He was suspended without pay in December amid an investigation that followed the arrest of his wife on gun and drug charges. However, city officials told News13 on Feb. 23 that Miles had been cleared “within 30 days” of any wrongdoing and had returned to work after an investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

News13 asked SLED to confirm the city’s response and was told on March 13 that the investigation into Miles was closed. However, SLED did not provide any details on the conclusion of the investigation at the time.

News13 then sent a public records request for SLED’s investigative documents pertaining to the case, and we’re waiting for those documents.

Prior to the hiring of Miles on Wednesday, Lake City had been without a police chief since Jody Cooper resigned at the end of October. Florence County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Darrin Yarborough has been managing the responsibility since mid-January while remaining an employee of the sheriff’s office.

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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

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