Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:08 PM
Updated Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:33 PM

 

Knight not ready for retirement

L.C. Knight admits he was forced to change his campaign strategy when his presumptive opponent, incumbent Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash, announced he was retiring and wouldn’t run again.

“I was ready to be very critical of his (Nash’s) management style,” Knight says.

In fact, Knight still has a pair of three-ring binders filled with various documents he planned to use as political ammunition against the man who narrowly beat him in a primary battle four years ago.

Knight says his opponent this time around, Republican Terry Boatwright, should not be blamed for what Knight perceives as Nash’s shortfalls. But that doesn’t mean Knight is willing to make a clear distinction between the two men.

“I feel like I’m going against the same person,” Knight says.

In recent months, Boatwright has started to distance himself from Nash while still wooing the sheriff’s supporters, Knight says.

“You can’t have it both ways,” he says.

In 2004, Knight didn’t do as well in lower county precincts as he would have liked, he says. With that in mind, his campaign has pounded the pavement.

“We’ve had a little more time to work those areas — to make more friends in those areas,” he says.

Knight certainly has a lot of friends already. He was born and raised in Dorchester County, where knows the nooks and crannies and where his family has long been associated with law enforcement. His father, Carl Knight, was sheriff from 1960 to 1988.

Knight hasn’t necessarily patterned himself after his father. But if he’s elected sheriff, Knight plans to emulate his father in at least three ways — treating everyone equally, making himself available to the community and keeping County Council constantly up to date on what’s happening in his office.

Knight himself worked for the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for just shy of 30 years. He rose to the rank of captain where he supervised the 12-county Lowcountry region. In doing so, he worked with 12 sheriff’s offices and 52 municipal police departments.

“I saw a lot of things at other departments that worked and a lot of things that didn’t work,” he says.

He retired from SLED in 2004 to run for sheriff. After his defeat in the primary, he served as a county magistrate. He donned the robe for just 18 months before deciding to run for sheriff again.

“I know I’m not ready for retirement,” he says.

Having worked in law enforcement his entire adult life, Knight says he knows what makes good law enforcement.

“Community does,” he says. “They’re our eyes, ears and hands.”

Knight says recent events at the sheriff’s office — budget overruns, stolen funds, etc — have discredited its reputation in the community. He says he’s heard of slow response time and areas where residents tell him they seldom see a deputy.

“I don’t think there’s any damage that can’t be fixed in a short period of time by serving the people, making sure money doesn’t go missing and treating people fairly,” he says.

If elected, Knight plans to immediately start the accreditation process. He says it’s vital to standardizing policies and procedures and protecting the office from litigation.

Knight says Boatwright’s experience as an assessor with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies doesn’t put him in a better position to make accreditation a reality.

“If he (Boatwright) sits at his desk all day working to get it (the sheriff’s office) accredited, I don’t think he’ll accomplish much else,” Knight says.

Contact David Berman at 873-9424 ext. 214 or dberman@journalscene.com