South Carolina officer fired after passing out in marked SUV, beer can between legs

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — A police officer in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has been fired after he was discovered passed out in his department-issued vehicle with a beer can between his legs.

According to WCBD-TV, officers found Sgt. Matt Kinard unconscious in one of the department’s marked SUVs around 11:20 a.m. July 3.

Upon closer inspection, responding officers also found an open beer can between Kinard’s legs and notified the other on-duty supervisor, who responded to the scene, The Post and Courier reported.

The supervisor escorted Kinard back to the Mount Pleasant Police Department, where he was met by the operations captain and the Office of Professional Standards lieutenant. According to police, it was determined Kinard was intoxicated while on duty and had passed out in his marked police SUV, WCBD-TV reported.

Kinard was fired immediately, charged with public intoxication and released on a courtesy summons, the TV station reported.

“The criminal consequences are consistent with those a non-law enforcement member of our community would be exposed to and we should not be expected to be treated differently in this circumstance. I am very disappointed that one of our police supervisors would conduct himself in this manner,” Mount Pleasant Police Chief Carl Ritchie said in a prepared statement.

Cox Media Group