Hartsville's new police chief delivering on long-term goals (2024)

HARTSVILLE — When Police Chief Byron Snellgrove became Hartsville’s interim police chief in May, he did not expect to stay more than six months. But now he's the full-time chief of police and turning big plans into reality.

“I fell in love with the town, I really enjoy what I’m doing, I think the people here are great and I think it’s a good fit,” Snellgrove said.

The city removed the interim tag in September.

City Manager Daniel Moore said Snellgrove's time as interim police chief gave him great insight into the community and police department.

"In just a short time, he has made a strong, positive impact within the department and we look forward to seeing his leadership for the future," Moore said in a press release announcing Snellgrove's hiring.

From the beginning of Snellgrove’s appointment as interim chief, he has been making long-term goals for the city, including improved communication between police and residents, a new recruiting program and a mentoring system for officers.

“We’re working toward building a better relationship with our community members as well as with city hall and the Council and pretty much everybody else in the city,” Snellgrove said. “That’s what our job really is— to have a relationship with the community. If we don’t have that relationship, then we really don’t know what the community needs, so we’re not giving them what they actually need. What they want is to be safe. They want to feel like the city is safe. They want to know the people that are working for them to make that happen, and they want to be able to communicate with us and talk to us about it and have us understand where they’re coming from and what they need.”

One of the first things Snellgrove did as interim police chief was get to work on a new crime reduction unit, which has officers work from 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. The officers use the afternoon to walk around the community and talk to people, then use the later hours to actively deter crime.

“We have noticed a difference, we sure have,” Snellgrove said. “We don’t have the type of activity that was going on before in the city that we had seen, and the community itself has noticed a difference. Both north Hartsville, south Hartsville, when you talk to them, they’ve noticed a difference in our department, they’ve noticed a difference in the crime that’s going on in the community. Things have calmed down.”

Snellgrove, who has nearly 40 years of experience in law enforcement, used to be an accreditation officer. He is in the process of getting accreditation — a lengthy process that allows the department to hold a magnifying glass up to every policy and aspect of the department and correct accordingly — for the Hartsville Police Department.

In January 2022, Snellgrove retired from law enforcement and public safety.

That decision didn't last long.

“I can say that I sat at the house, I got up when I wanted to, ate breakfast when I wanted to, had a drink when I wanted to,” Snellgrove said. “It was probably the worst year of my life. I say that simply because I felt like I still had something to give, that I wasn’t quite through yet. When I retired, I actually sort of thought I was and that I was going to be OK with that, but after a few months, you get tired, you get bored, and law enforcement, public safety sort of runs through your veins.”

Snellgrove is working to make the process of getting a new police chief less time-consuming by creating a succession plan that would have someone already lined up to be the new police chief after the latest one has left their position.

From his lengthy time in law enforcement and public safety, Snellgrove says he has learned to be flexible in terms of going to new places and learning new ways to do things with the coming of new generations.

Snellgrove also received the Order of the Palmetto — the highest honor a resident can receive from the state from Gov. Henry McMaster in 2021 for his work on the case of Faye Swetlik’s abduction in 2020 when he was with the Cayce Police Department.

Swetlik, 6, was abducted on Feb. 10, 2020. Her body was found days later in a nearby wooded area. An autopsy showed Swetlik had been strangled hours after her abduction. A neighbor, Coty Taylor, killed himself after Swetlik's body was discovered.

Evidence pointed to Taylor as the lone person responsible for Swetlik's abduction and murder.

Snellgrove said the case was a good example of how to handle an abduction, even though it did not end the way anyone wanted.

“I want to be here long enough to make sure the department is going in the direction that it needs to be and that the city and the department are functioning together like they need to with the citizens and all that, and then have somebody that I feel very comfortable with turning the department over to and being the next chief,” Snellgrove said.