Moncks Corner hires new police chief after monthslong search | News

MONCKS CORNER — The town selected one of its former patrolmen — and a current major with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office — as its next police chief.

David R. Brabham Jr. will be sworn in Sept. 15. The longtime Moncks Corner resident will replace former Police Chief Rick Ollic, who quietly retired in March after signing an agreement in which he agreed not to sue the town.

Brabham has nearly 30 years’ worth of law enforcement experience across several units. The soft-spoken leader sought out the role of top cop at his home department, eager to return to the small-town environment.

He beat out 20 other candidates from around the country, said Jeff Lord, Moncks Corner town administrator.

“In the end, it was someone close to home that stood out above the rest as the best person to lead the Police Department forward,” Lord said.

Climbing the ranks

Brabham, 48, grew up in Charlotte. His grandfather was in law enforcement, but Brabham didn’t seriously think about a career in the field until moving to Moncks Corner in 1993.

He was taking business classes at Trident Technical College when a police-officer friend invited Braham on a few ride-alongs. The job wasn’t all shootouts and crime fighting, he realized.

“A lot of it was was getting out and meeting the public,” Brabham said. “I think there’s a sense of pride when you’re that person that people call when they need a little bit of help.”

The Moncks Corner Police Department gave Brabham his first job in law enforcement. He started as a patrolman before eventually joining the K-9 unit, where he developed a passion for working with police dogs.

Brabham spent three years at Moncks Corner until 1998, when he took a job at the Sheriff’s Office. He’s remained there since, charting a career that’s spanned several units and many titles.

He started as a patrol deputy before getting a spot on the K-9 team, where he stayed for a decade and rose through the ranks to lieutenant. Brabham got to truly know Berkeley County — South Carolina’s largest in terms of land mass — as a K-9 officer, he said. He was thrown into a variety of situations, like missing-person cases and burglaries. As a self-proclaimed “dog person,” Brabham valued the partnership he formed with each of his animals.

“When you’re patrolling by yourself, it was always nice to have that sense of comfort and a little backup,” he said.

Plus, being a police officer with a dog was the perfect “PR tool,” Brabham said. People loved to come up and pet the animal, giving him the chance to engage them in conversation.

Brabham served next as supervisor of the drug enforcement unit before returning to the patrol division as a road supervisor, then heading up the Sheriff’s Office training division.

After becoming a captain, Brabham presided over the community services division, which entailed managing the records department, criminal-justice databases and the school resource officer program.

Sheriff Duane Lewis promoted Brabham in 2015 to his current position: major over criminal investigations and support services.

Brabham’s vast experience and technical capability, as well as his “proven track record of serving with honesty and integrity” won him the job as police chief, said Moncks Corner Mayor Michael Lockliear.

Embracing change

It’ll be difficult to leave the department where he’s worked for nearly a quarter-century, but Brabham knows Lewis will always be available for him as a resource, he said.

That’s one lesson he’ll be taking from the Sheriff’s Office to Moncks Corner: Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and seek the advice of others when you’re unsure. 

Sometimes people get into a new position and feel like they have to know it all right away, Brabham said. He’s eager to dig deeper into the Police Department’s culture and form personal relationships with each of the officers. They’ll know what Brabham’s expectations are, and the chief will better understand their career goals.

“I think that intimacy is important in molding officers to better serve the community,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges currently facing the Police Department is the recruitment and retention of officers — an issue for law enforcement agencies across the country. Meeting the financial demands of government employees while also not overtaxing citizens is a difficult balance to strike, Brabham said.

The new chief could quickly be faced with having to hire more cops. Moncks Corner is “exponentially” growing, he said. The influx of people, along with building projects and housing developments on the horizon, means more calls for service. It’s natural for a police department to grow alongside its town.

The Moncks Corner department already has a solid foundation in terms of its relationship with the community, Brabham said. He hopes to build on it by increasing officers’ presence in the town’s business districts and neighborhoods — and making sure his cops are approachable, he said.

Out with the old

The Police Department has been without a chief since March 18, Ollic’s last day. His six-year tenure wasn’t without controversy.

A former Moncks Corner police officer filed a federal lawsuit in 2020 alleging Ollic used racial slurs against her, discriminated against her and drummed her out of the department because of her race and gender. The town denied the allegations. The lawsuit was settled in November for an undisclosed sum, court filings state.

Ollic was suspended for two weeks in June 2021 after a school resource officer was charged with having criminal sexual conduct with a high school student. The officer was later fired from the department. The following month, another one of Ollic’s officers was fired following his arrest on allegations he accepted money to dismiss a traffic ticket. 

The town of Moncks Corner presented Ollic with a covenant in December not to sue, records show. He ultimately signed it, agreeing with town officials that neither party can make any public statements that disparage” the other.

In exchange, town officials agreed all employer records will reflect Ollic voluntarily retired.

“This agreement is the compromise of doubtful and disputed claims and this release is not to be construed as an admission of liability on the part of employer,” the covenant states.

Ollic’s law enforcement license expired in July, state records show.