Could a Burnettown police officer also work for a private contractor at the Savannah River nuclear site?

Plain-English summary

A legislator asked whether Jason Usry could remain a part-time Burnettown police officer while working for Wackenhut Services at the Savannah River nuclear facilities. The Attorney General said he could, based on information that Usry worked in a separate division with no law enforcement authority and held neither a special state constable commission nor a private security guard license.

The opinion explained that a municipal police officer held a public office for South Carolina's dual office holding rule. It also described the constitutional exception for constables, including special state constables with limited jurisdiction at the Savannah River site. Those points framed the issue, but the reported facts about Usry's actual Wackenhut position controlled the answer.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the officer's Wackenhut employment automatically bar his police commission?
A: No. The AG relied on the report that this particular Wackenhut job carried no law enforcement authority.

Q: Would a Savannah River special constable commission count as a second office?
A: The opinion said the constitutional constable exception covered the special state constables described there. Usry reportedly did not hold such a commission.

Q: Was the answer based on all private security jobs?
A: No. The office distinguished Usry's reported position from a licensed security guard or commissioned constable role.

Background and statutory framework

Article XVII, Section 1A barred holding two public offices of honor or profit at once, subject to stated exceptions. The opinion treated municipal policing as an office and discussed Richardson v. Town of Mount Pleasant on the distinction between a police officer and an exempt constable. It cited Section 23-7-40 for the site-limited special state constable role, then applied the rule to the reported facts of Usry's employment.

Citations

• Article XVII, Section 1A
• Section 23-7-40
• Richardson v. Town of Mount Pleasant

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/september-21-2004/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/04sept-21-Smith.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
HENRY MCMASTER
AITORNEY GENERAL

September 21, 2004

The Honorable J. Roland Smith
Member, House of Representatives
183 Edgar Street
Warrenville, South Carolina 29851

I

Dear Representative Smith:
In a Idler to this office you questioned the law enforcement status of Mr. Jason Usry who worked part-time with the Burnettown Police Department and is employed with Wackenhut Services at the Savannah River nuclear facilities. In particular, you asked whether Mr. Usry could continue to hold a law enforcement commission as a Burnettown police officer or whether the dual office holding provision of the State Constitution would prevent him from serving as such while working for Wackenhut. It is my understanding that certain individuals employed by Wackenhut serve as private security guards or hold commissions as special State constables pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. Section 23-7-30 et seq. (Supp. 2003). Article XVII, Section 1A of the State Constitution provides that "no person may hold two offices of honor or profit at the same time ... ," with exceptions specified for an officer in the militia, a member of a lawfully and regularly organized fire department, a constable, or a notary public. For this provision to be contravened, a person concurrently must hold two public offices which have duties involving an exercise of some portion of the sovereign power of the State. Sanders v. Belue, 78 S.C. 171, 58 S.E. 762 (1907). Other relevant considerations are whether statutes, or other such authority, establish the position, prescribe its tenure, duties or salary, or require qualifications or an oath for the position. State v Crenshaw. 274 S.C. 475, 266 S.E.2d 61 (1980).

r

This office has repeatedly held that an individual serving as a police officer in this State holds an office for dual office holding purposes of the State Constitution. See: Ops. Atty. Gen. dated July 31, 2000; June 12, 1995; February4, 1994. See also: Richardson v. Town of Mount Pleasant, 350 S.C. 291, 566 S.E.2d 523 (2002) (municipal police officer was not a constable so as to be exempt from constitutional provisions prohibiting dual office holding). Similarly, this office concluded in an opinion dated August 12, 1991 that an individual serving as a private security guard would hold an office for dual office holding purposes. See also: Ops. Atty. Gen. dated May 14, 1986; March 11, 1983; and January 28, 1975. As to individuals employed by Wackenhut who hold commissions as special State constables, in its decision in Richardson v. Town of Mount Pleasant, supra, the State Supreme Court recognized I

R&mw C. DENNJs BUD.DING • POST OFFICE Box 11549 • COUJMBIA, s.c. 29211-1549 • TELEPHONE: 803-734-3970 • FACSIMILE: 803-253-6283

I

p /} h

","'

f\d:.;J/,,

The Honorable J. Roland Smith
Page2
September 21, 2004

the exemptioo in the State Constitution for constables preventing them from being considered an officer for dual office holding purposes. Specifically included in the category of "constable" for purposes of the dual office holding provision of the State Constitution were those special state constables whose jurisdiction is "limited to the lands and premises acquired by the United States govemment_in Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties." See: Section 23-7-40. Therefore, if Mr. Usry was to have obtained a commission as a special state constable in association with his duties at Wackenhut at the Savannah River plant, he would not be considered as holding an ofiice in that position for purposes of the prohibition on dual office holding.

I

I have been informed, however, that Mr. Usry does not hold a commission as a special State constable noris he licensed as a private security guard. An individual with Wackenhut specifically informed me that Mr. Usry is employed in a separate division with no law enforcement authority. Therefore, based upon such understanding of such employment, in my opinion Mr. Usry could continue to serve as a part-time law enforcement officer with the Burnettown Police Department. With kind regards, I am, Very truly yours,

Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

~/J.11~

R.m

Assistant Deputy Attorney General
cc:

William R. Neill, Deputy Director
South Carolina Criminal Justice
Academy Division I Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 1993
Blythewood, S.C. 29016
Charles Truesdale, Chief of Police
Burnettown Police Department
Post Office Box 994
Bath, S.C. 29816