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Lancaster interim police chief steps down, council member walks out of meeting

LANCASTER, S.C. — A Lancaster city council member walked out and vowed not to come back and the the city’s interim police chief announced he is stepping down to retire.

[PAST COVERAGE: Lancaster City Council votes 4-2 to fire police chief]

Lancaster city leaders have been searching for a new police chief for the past 10 months, but some have said the process has dragged on for too long.

The situation came to a head Tuesday night.

“Do I think I deserve it? Yeah, I think I deserve it,” said Phillip Hall, interim police chief. “I think I earned it. I’ve given my all in all to this community.”

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City leaders fired former Lancaster Police Chief Scott Grant.

“To my knowledge, I’m the only person who interviewed twice,” Hall said. “As a candidate for this position, I think they should let us know who I’m going against. But I don’t know nothing.”

The city has conducted some interviews but about two weeks ago leaders decided to spend more than $20,000 to hire a consultant.

The consultant would help the council identify what they want in a candidate and to help them examine candidates from inside and outside the department.

“I felt like I got slapped in the face,” Hall said.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, some citizens said Hall’s experience makes him the best candidate for the job.

Council member Gonzie Mackey stood up and said Hall has been mistreated.

“Ya’ll can have this, OK,” Mackey said. “Ya’ll can have this, because I really don’t appreciate the stuff that is going on and I don’t like the way that man has been treated.”

Community leader Tonya Ross said the firing of the past chief and past claims of racial profiling by an officer pointed to the need for an extensive search for new leadership.

“I feel as though the community has lost faith in this department and we need a whole clean sweep,” said Ross, founder of We the People Committee.

Hall’s retirement date has been moved to March 2, and he will be on holiday until then.

Lt. Brian Small, special operations commander, is the interim police chief.

The mayor said Wednesday they have not decided who will take Hall’s place.

(Watch the video below: ‘I plan to be back’: Lancaster County school bus driver recovers after serious wreck)