10/30/2020
I wanted to Share my article from the Index Journal! I hope you all will take the time to read it.
“Former two-term sheriff Tony Davis is seeking to unseat incumbent Greenwood County Sheriff Dennis Kelly, with each boasting more than three decades of law enforcement experience.
Kelly won Greenwood County’s top law enforcement position in 2016. He started in law enforcement more than 30 years ago as a state Highway Patrol trooper and spent 27 years in a supervisory and management role there. He supervised Troop 3 and retired as a lieutenant in Troop 2 overseeing the officers working the Lakelands.
While Kelly has training in a range of law enforcement tactics and subjects, he said he’s most proud of the ethical and professional standards he brought to the office. He said when he took office, he made it clear that officers needed to meet his ethical standards. He said he personally signs off on any check cut using the public’s money and wants officers to conduct themselves professionally in the community.
“I’ve learned that if people don’t have the same ethical standards that I have or don’t want to go in the direction I have, they kind of hold the sheriff’s department back,” he said. “I ran on being honest and ethical, and I’m going to be transparent and continue to build relationships in Greenwood to make this community a better place to live in.”
Kelly said he likes to personally connect with the community to build relationships.
“I don’t send deputies, I go out personally in the community,” he said. “I think building those relationships and meeting with the citizens has been the most rewarding thing.”
He said that’s why he’s gotten involved with groups such as the Greenwood Abbeville Coalition, the Beckman Center for Mental Health Services and Cornerstone — groups dedicated to helping address mental health and substance abuse issues. These groups have resources and provide services law enforcement can’t, but that overlap with issues officers deal with daily.
He said he started community update meetings, sharing with residents issues relevant to their neighborhoods and hearing from people about their local concerns. Building relationships is key, he said, which is why he personally met with ministers from all areas of the county to communicate about how to best serve their communities.
“Working as a team with all of those agencies makes it go a lot smoother in helping the Greenwood sheriff’s office accomplish our goals,” he said.
When George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, protests and demonstrations sparked across the country, including in Greenwood. Kelly was in the crowd himself, and though he said it was a bit overwhelming, he wanted to do his best to show he wasn’t running from the questions people had.
He said he’s eager to talk with others about how law enforcement functions, and wants to give the public a better understanding of how the office works and why officers do what they do. He said he’s been part of such conversations through the Christ Changing Communities group.”
