BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—On Friday, Duane Lewis, Republican candidate for Berkeley County sheriff appeared on The Morning Report with Jay Harper on WQSC to discuss the upcoming runoff.
In just three days, Lewis will face Brian Adams, the North Charleston police officer who won the most votes during the primary last month but not enough to move forward in the general election.
Lewis is currently the deputy chief of law enforcement for Santee Cooper. Live on the air, he told radio host Jay Harper that he is a 30 year police veteran.
“In 1984 I was a deputy for Berkeley County but moved on to the Charleston City Police Department and came back to Goose Creek City Police Department for a while and ran the detective division,” stated Lewis. “At my current position as a deputy chief, I manage a law enforcement agency, budget personnel, training and development.”
According to Lewis, he oversees a staff of 100 people scattered throughout South Carolina.
“What I want to do is take these experiences I’ve had for over the last 30 years and use them in a positive way to reorganize, re-evaluate the sheriff’s office,” he stated. “The thing I’m hearing the most as I’m knocking on doors all over Berkeley County is response times. They’re concerned about the response times and the amount of patrol deputies out on the streets.”
If elected, Lewis says he wants the sheriff’s office to place a heavy emphasis on substations, having more deputies stationed at them regularly.
“I’ve worked under that model at Charleston City Police. It’s a very effective community policing program,” Lewis explained. “I’ve lived and worked it, and I think it’s an excellent opportunity for us to get back into the community and offer the folks a little more protection and also improve our response times.”
Lewis stated that the biggest problem he believes plaguing the county is drugs.
“Drugs create other crimes, opportunities for criminals. The drug dealers and the drug users are roaming the streets and breaking into our homes during the day while we’re out at work trying to provide for our families and they’re breaking into our businesses to support their habit,” he stated. “My plan is to go after this drug problem in a consolidated effort using the assistance of SLED, DEA—any federal partners that I can partner with I intend to do it because I believe once we tackle that, it will helps us solve the burglaries that we’re having in the county.”
During the course of the conversation, Lewis also stated that he supported the use of body cameras on officers, however, believes there are still a lot of questions that still need to be addressed regarding how their use.
“I think it’s a great tool to protect the citizens and the deputies. The problem is how do we pay for it when we have vehicles that have 200,000 miles on it?” stated Lewis. “One of the things that worries me about this issue is if you’re at your home and a deputy comes and answers a call there—let’s say not for a violent crime but a routine call. Does the homeowner have a right to ask the deputy to cut the camera off while they’re in their home? I’m pleased that the legislators are moving forward trying to tackle this issue. I think it’s something we really need. We need to move cautiously. We need to make sure we do the right thing.”
Lewis has faced criticism during the course of the election for being a part of the “good old boy” system. While live on the air, Lewis didn’t shy away from addressing the issue.
“I’ve grown up in Berkeley County and have deep roots here. My father was in law enforcement for many, many years, and my mother was a school board member for over thirty years. I don’t understand how you take public service in your community to mean that you’re a ‘good old boy,’” stated Lewis. “It’s not something I am dwelling on. We have run a positive campaign, focusing on the issues that we know Berkeley County is concerned about. I have offered a solution to those problems in a non-aggressive way during this campaign. I think it’s resonated with people. I think we’re going to be successful Tuesday.”
Lewis’ opponent, Brian Adams, will appear on The Morning Report with Jay Harper on Monday. Highlights from his interview will also be featured on The Berkeley Observer.
