Assault conviction in Atlantic Beach assault not the end of questions about Town and former Chief
The Blogland has discussed the Horry County town of Atlantic Beach and former Police Chief and town Administrator Benny Webb plenty - and for good reason. Both can't seem to stay out of trouble.
Thursday last week, Webb was found guilty of assault and battery. This occurred in May of last year, involving an altercation between Webb and local activist Paul Curry, who was requesting town records.
While the conviction may provide some vindication for Curry, when we talked with him, he was concerned about what this ruling may show for other cases where Webb was involved in prosecuting others during his law enforcement career:
After listening to Webb on the witness stand, I'm concerned whether he may actually believe that the audio recording of his threats had been altered, that he did not actually say the things captured on the recording. I question whether Webb may have given perjured testimony during his law enforcement career, convicting innocent people, who did not have a recording of what actually happened.
Curry shared three questions which he said had not been answered, including the reason for the visit which led to the assault:
- Did the document that I was requesting, a contract for legal services, exist?
- Why wasn't Webb prosecuted for a willful refusal to comply with this state's FOIA, S.C. Code Section 30-4-110? and
- What happened to the four-page Voluntary Statement, attached, that I prepared, and was witnessed by and was handed to ABPD Sgt. John Jackson?
Curry provided an audio recording of the incident, which was posted on YouTube (scroll down to watch the video). In the video, Webb admits to having his hands on Curry and is clearly agitated while Curry is calm and questioning.
It seems there is just one after the other of bad decisions and bad behavior on the part of town officials."
The above statements were my response earlier in the week to a similar article that appeared on SCNOW.
My sentiments have not changed and have actually been re-enforced. The city of Atlantic Beach will never be respected or trusted by SC citizens until the honest citizens of Atlantic Beach participate in city government.