The city of Nelson is facing a shortage of police, and its mayor has sought help from Cherokee and Pickens counties.
Mayor David Leister said, however, that his city police department is not being abolished.
“No town or city who has a police department would disband their police department unless they were unincorporating,” Leister said. “The city or towns who have police protection owe it to the citizens to have that. Sometimes situations arise where it may not be the best of times. In no uncertain terms, the police department in Nelson is not being disbanded.”
He said the city recently lost one officer to Pickens County, leaving interim Police Chief Brad Carroll as the lone officer. Leister said the city is currently in negotiations with Carroll. Leister said he’s reached out to the two counties in which Nelson lies for increased police activity within the city limits—but that’s something he said he started after being sworn in as the mayor earlier this year.
“I’ve been in contact with both Cherokee County and Pickens County regarding Nelson since I took office in January,” Leister said. “We’ve been working with Pickens County to step up their patrol.”
Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison said his agency would gladly help keep Nelson’s citizens safe.
“We will continue to respond, as we always have,” Garrison said. “ It has never been a full-time police department, so we’re used to responding to the calls when they don’t have an officer. We’ll continue to provide the service we’ve always provided.”
Cherokee County responded to 50 calls in Nelson in 2009, according to statistics provided by Cherokee E-911. There were a total of 462 calls to 911 in the Cherokee side of Nelson in 2009, E-911 officials said.
Capt. Frank Reynolds, public information officer for the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, said Nelson officials have asked for extra patrols—and it would provide the sheriff’s office’s full service capabilities as long as Nelson needs it.
“We are more than happy to assist where we can,” Reynolds said. “Those are residents of Pickens County, and we’ll do what we’ve always done and provide quality law enforcement services.”
Nelson is a small city that is split by the Cherokee-Pickens county line. Leister said a current estimate shows Nelson’s population at about 950. He said he hopes the 2010 Census puts Nelson’s population at 1,000.
