Mount Pleasant Magazine May/June 2021

20 www. ReadMPM. com | www. VOICE forRea l Es tate. com | www.MountPl easantBu i lder s . com MOUNT PLEASANT MAGAZINE: You have served the town of Mount Pleasant for more than 30 years. How has Mount Pleasant changed from the perspective of a member of MPPD during that time? CHIEF RICHIE: Obviously, there’s the growth of the town, which used to end at Snee Farm. We only had 30 police officers here to cover the entire area, and that was adequate. I’ve seen the addition of the 526 bridge and the IOP connector, and, in turn, more traffic. The community itself has changed a lot, but it’s still a welcoming town. MPM: Working in law enforcement is both extremely difficult and extremely rewarding. What have you found to be one of the most difficult things about serving with MPPD over the last 32 years? CR: I would say responding to suicide calls. I don’t think you ever get used to that. Before I took over as the chief, we were responding to either a suicide or attempted suicide almost daily. We were responding to the same individual who attempted suicide two, three, four times, turning that person over to EMS, and then moving on to the next call. Then on the third or fourth time, we would respond to the same individual and they had finally completed the act. As chief, I worked on a program to help reduce that. Now we have victim advocates available, so when we respond to an attempted suicide, we immediately assign an advocate and let them know they’re not alone. We have dramatically reduced the number of suicides and suicide attempts here. MPM: What have you found to be the most rewarding? CR: After the Emmanuel 9 tragedy, I had the honor of leading the unity walk over the Ravenel Bridge. I knew how much Charleston PD had on their plate, so I reached out to [the chief ] and I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll make sure it’s handled.’ There turned out to be 10,000+ people. And I had the opportunity to lead that march starting on the Mount Pleasant side. I worked directly with the organizers and community activists and really took the time to build a relationship with them. Then last year, when local activist groups asked to march across the bridge again, I had a meeting and just said, ‘Tell me what you’re trying to accomplish.’ Instead of having a repeat of the unrest happening across the nation, I was able to successfully gain their trust and help people walk across the bridge and back peacefully. In other words, being able to do that in a world that seems so divided stands out to me. feature