MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Former two-term Myrtle Beach mayor Mark McBride on Wednesday said the city’s police chief and top elected official should both be removed for their botched public response to an Ocean Boulevard shooting.
“I thank the officers for responding. It’s never been about the rank-and-file. They’ve always done their job. They’ve always gone over and above. It’s always been a management issue in City Hall,” McBride said in a five-minute post to his Facebook page criticizing Mayor Brenda Bethune and police chief Amy Prock.
McBride served as mayor from 1998 through 2006, after that launching unsuccessful bids for the General Assembly and Congress.
Prock said Wednesday one person remains in critical condition and 10 others between the ages of 13 and 43 sustained gunshot-related injuries as a result of the Saturday night confrontation that left 18-year-old Jerrius Davis dead in an officer-involved shooting.
McBride said Wednesday that 12 people were shot and transported to a local hospital. The city is allocated for 272 officers but currently has 50 openings headed into peak tourism season.
Prock said “conditional offers” have been made to 17 people.
“We have an active recruiting unit,” she said, adding that the agency partners with surrounding ones for coverage.
“As your chief of police, I am here to assure you that as long as you are here in our city, so are we,” Prock said. “Standing here every day, every night. We will preserve the peace.”
McBride questioned how that’s possible with a 20% vacancy rate across Prock’s department.
“When you have 20% vacancy, you can’t fill your department. That’s why you have to go to surrounding cities and the county and everybody else to do the job,” he said.
Bethune also refuted claims that the city is unsafe, rejecting the ‘Murder Beach’ moniker that some have attached to it over the years.
“Quite honestly, it disgusts me,” she said of the nickname. “That’s not who we are. When you look at the millions upon millions of people that come here and you look at the real statistics, you will find out we are a very safe place.”
McBride in 2017 drew both criticism and opposition after suggesting the reallocation of tourism tax dollars from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce to city coffers that would help pay for public safety.
McBride, who currently lives in Oconee County, said Wednesday that city leaders should hold a closed-door meeting to review Prock’s performance and then part ways with her.
“You’ve been lied to by the mayor of the city of Myrtle Beach. Mayor Bethune needs to resign, and Chief Prock needs to be replaced,” he said.
