SLED expands inquiry on recently resigned Wagener fire chief
WAGENER, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - An investigation of the former Wagener fire chief has widened to cover more than just the overtime issues that had previously been the focus.
David Watson resigned a couple of weeks ago after a police investigation raised questions about overtime he’d logged. The matter was turned over to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for further investigation.
On Thursday, Wagener Assistant Police Chief Mark Worchol said: “We met with SLED earlier this week and they requested to conduct a full investigation into David Watson.”
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He said the agency wanted to rule out any other financial issues that would involve him, so investigators have requested credit card statements.
“We are in the process of turning that over to them as well,” Worchol said. “So that will fall under their scope of investigation.”
The Wagener police investigation began after it was brought to authorities’ attention on Oct. 10 that Watson was claiming a large amount of overtime every week.
Wagener Police Chief Michael Goodwin took the matter to the attention of Mayor Mike Miller and Mayor Pro Tem George Smith and requested consent to investigate, according to the report.
On Oct. 11, Goodwin met with Town Clerk Angel Jeffcoat and requested Watson’s check stubs dating back to the start of July 2022. The stubs revealed 20 to 26 hours of overtime every week, according to the police report.
Goodwin totaled up the overtime, which was more than 1,700 hours at a cost of over $42,000, according to the report.
Miller met with Watson, who resigned, according to police.
READ THE POLICE REPORT:
The scandal that led to Watson’s exit is reminiscent of what happened in November 2020 in Wagener – a controversy that also left the town without a fire chief and took the firefighting roster down from 12 to four.
Mark Redd was fired from the town’s volunteer fire department in 2020 after more than 40 years of service and more than 20 as chief. The firing led to a mass resignation of volunteers and a rift among some of the small community.
A retired public safety veteran in Aiken County was brought in to rebuild the agency, and Watson came in sometime after that.
Redd ultimately sued Miller, claiming defamation.
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