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Editor’s Note: This is a news analysis.
A police department once engulfed in a credibility crisis is now receiving national recognition for its performance, following the ouster of a police chief whose tenure had devolved into a case study for unchecked misconduct and institutional failure.
On Monday, the Sullivan’s Island Police Department (SIPD) announced it was being recognized for excellence by Lexipol, a prominent public safety consulting firm. The acknowledgment marks a striking turnaround for an agency previously led by one of the most scandal-ridden law enforcement officers in South Carolina.
Chris Griffin resigned as SIPD chief in February 2024 amid a string of complaints and an internal affairs investigation. Allegations against him included harassment, intimidation, stalking and the misuse of taxpayer-funded equipment to target at least one subordinate.
According to personnel files, Griffin used internal cameras to monitor the officer inside town facilities, appeared outside HR offices while she was present, parked outside her home in an unmarked cruiser and left his undergarments in her assigned shower at the department.
These incidents weren’t isolated.
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In 2019, Griffin was permanently banned from the South Carolina Police Chiefs Association (SCPCA) after allegedly sending unsolicited, sexually explicit messages to women during a leadership conference. Still, he remained in his position for years, largely unchallenged by town leadership.
His behavior — and the officials who enabled it — became the focus of Pervert on Patrol, a four-part FITSNews investigative series that exposed the full scope of Griffin’s alleged misconduct through personnel files, lawsuits and testimonies.
Griffin ultimately resigned just ahead of a scheduled town council meeting, where officials were expected to confront the mounting allegations against him. He walked away with a $10,000 payout and no formal disciplinary action — at least, not until a new police chief took over.
Enter stage right: Glenn Meadows.
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Then serving as interim chief, Meadows was unanimously appointed to lead the scandal-scarred department. Within days, he issued SIPD’s first-ever mission statement and formally notified the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA) of Griffin’s resignation.
His department later submitted the town’s internal findings to state certification authorities — a move that would prove consequential for Griffin.
“I cannot condone any activity that erodes public trust or internal employee trust,” Meadows wrote in an email to FITSNews last August. “The sustained allegations against the former chief are in no way representative of who we are… The Sullivan’s Island Police Department has obviously gone through a period of transition and is now thriving.”
Since taking command, Meadows has publicly prioritized transparency, accountability and professional development. He expanded the department’s use of modern technology, formalized training standard and initiated regular policy reviews in partnership with Lexipol.
Those reforms earned SIPD a gold-level distinction in Lexipol’s Connect program — the firm’s highest available recognition. According to the firm, the status reflects consistent policy dissemination, timely legal updates and ongoing officer training.
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RELATED | PERVERT ON PATROL
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“As the chief law enforcement officer for the Sullivan’s Island Police Department, I am proud to provide departmental members with a policy manual that is tailored to the unique and specific needs of the Town of Sullivan’s Island,” wrote Meadows said in a statement Monday. “Through our partnership with Lexipol, these policies are reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure we remain in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations and laws.”
The achievement stands in sharp contrast to the damage left behind by Griffin — damage that continued long after his quiet resignation.
After briefly resurfacing as police chief in Jamestown, South Carolina, Griffin was terminated following statewide backlash and renewed scrutiny from FITSNews. Personnel records confirm his firing and subsequent expulsion from law enforcement were directly tied to SIPD’s formal reporting to the SCCJA.
Though Griffin evaded formal accountability during his time in Sullivan’s Island, it was the department’s internal investigation — and Meadows’ decision to escalate it — that ultimately led to his decertification.
His removal from law enforcement marked the end of a long-overdue reckoning — one driven by the officers who spoke up and the administrators who finally acted.
The Lexipol recognition may be symbolic, but on Sullivan’s Island, it signifies something far more profound: a department rebuilt from dysfunction, and a culture no longer willing to tolerate silence or abuse.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
(Dynal Nolan/FITSNews)
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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2 comments
What the Hells the world comin to. They should have put the SOB in jail. Got to be something in the water.
Chief Meadows is to be commended for helping deal with the Chris Griffin issue. No question about it.
That said, I would be cautious about diving too deeply into a business like Lexipol. They took over a site that is known as Police One, some years ago. Police One consisted mostly of articles from mainstream media sources, mostly AP. Occasionally there were interesting or useful articles about the job such as selecting the best off-duty weapon for your particular mode of dress. There was a comment section following most articles that appeared, where bona-fide members of P1 could express opinions, argue, and agree; much as happens on FitsNews. To become a bonafide member of P1, you had to submit some type of verifiable data that you were a current or retired LEO. Once you were verified, you could post and respond to comments. While the public could read most articles, they were supposedly restricted from reading or posting comments. This was to give the verified cops and retirees on P1 a place to vent and share ideas without stirring up public ridicule.
During the Covid plandemic, a lot of Police and Sheriff’s departments severely overstepped their bounds and Constitutional authority, in the name of enforcing edicts, laws, and ordinances, issued by power hungry Governors, Legislatures, and Local Government councils. This generated spirited debate and argument amongst the officers in the comment section. You had some, who were content to act as The King’s Guard, and enforce any edict or ordinance, no matter how overreaching or unconstitutional it might be. Others, seeing the wrongness in many of these edicts, laws, and ordinances; cautioned against blindly enforcing them.
Around this time, I seem to recall the appearance of Gordon Graham, a mealy mouthed old flatulent who made frequent video “shorts” that reminded me of meaningless pep talks from Sheriff’s, Chiefs, or command staff, when they have given you an assignment that contradicts The Constitution, law, or is an otherwise distasteful order where they know it is stupid, but expect you to obey. As I recall, Graham was tied to Lexipol. I am not sure if Lexipol sprang from Police One or if it appeared and consumed P1, but there was a definite merger. Graham was a motorcycle cop for a while in Cali, and appears to have sucked his way to the top as (guess what), a “Risk Manager”. If any of you have ever had the misfortune to work around or know a Risk Manager, they seemingly exist to make any work environment more difficult and to halt any process that works. They can make up a thousand reasons why you need to take your hand truck full of whatever heavy items outside in the rain or snow and go around the building and through an entrance on the other side of the building; rather than push it straight through the building’s interior to its destination, “because of whatever risk associated with pushing it inside the building”.
Graham, predictably by his profession as RM, always seemed to have the perfect way of handling every situation he did a video short on. Obviously, he had not worked the street in decades. Years behind a desk gives one that super power, to always know what the street cop should have done to achieve a perfect outcome, devoid of bad consequences.
Anyway, not long after the Lexipol logo started appearing on P1, the bosses at P1 began cautioning cops about their comments and that non-cops had somehow hacked or otherwise breached their way into the comments as some comments were being quoted in other media. There was nothing particularly bad like “the best way to beat a citizen down” or anything like that. As here, almost all of us used pseudonyms. There were a lot of comments from older cops advising young ones to not be so quick to enforce draconian and purposeless Covid edicts and occasionally not to be so quick to make total fools of themselves by harassing citizens who were openly carrying firearms in total compliance with their states’ laws and wind up looking like an idiot on YouTube, as many at the time were doing. P1, apparently jockeying to make itself into a marketable bastion of All Things Police to departments and training academies, did not take kindly to this advice to not blindly obey all orders. In short order, they stopped all commenting. They wanted one-way communication to the cops who had previously been their viewer base. ” We tell you how it is and you obey. No room for dissension, disagreement, or discussion.” They noted as a reason for stopping comments, that they could no longer “control” the discussions. Seriously?
Apparently Lexipol and P1 are now at the next level, helping create and form department policy and procedure, I would guess for a fee.
I would urge caution to any department considering use of Lexipol as a model for policy, procedure, or anything else.