Editorial roundup: Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018

Posted

Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:

The Post and Courier

Oct. 24

S.C. mourns loss of 2nd officer after ambush attack

South Carolina has lost another courageous law enforcement officer.

On Monday, Florence County sheriff's investigator Farrah Turner died following weeks in the hospital and multiple surgeries related to an Oct. 3 shootout that killed another officer and wounded five others.

Sgt. Terrence Carraway of the Florence Police Department died during the shooting. Four of the wounded officers have been released from hospitals. The seventh remains in recovery.

Ms. Turner's friends and family described her as "selfless" and "a hero" who "devoted her life to protecting others" in messages on social media and a GoFundMe page that had been set up to help pay for her medical expenses and recovery.

Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone called her "the ultimate professional" and said "she dedicated her life to serving the victims of the worst crimes imaginable."

Indeed, Ms. Turner reportedly filed the warrant that led Florence County deputies to the house of accused shooter Frederick Hopkins in order to investigate sexual assault allegations against his son, Seth Hopkins.

The younger Mr. Hopkins has been charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 years old and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor between 11 and 14 years old.

Ms. Turner and her colleagues were planning to interview him and search his room for "mementos" of those alleged assaults, according to a report last week by The Post and Courier's Angie Jackson.

The elder Mr. Hopkins now faces a murder charge in Turner's death, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. Previously he was charged with one count of murder and six counts of attempted murder.

After what officials described as an "ambush" in which hundreds of rounds of fire were exchanged between officers and the alleged shooter, law enforcement officers found 129 guns in his home. Fred Hopkins apparently had been waiting on police to arrive and opened fire from the second story when they stepped out of the car, according to officials.

There is likely little that South Carolina lawmakers or law enforcement professionals could do to prevent that kind of cold-blooded carnage in the future. Mr. Hopkins apparently acquired his arsenal legally. The officers arriving at his house seem to have responded as quickly and effectively as they could in a chaotic situation.

Still, as the investigation continues, state officials should be open-minded to any policy change that might protect the lives of law enforcement officers without unduly burdening South Carolina's many law-abiding gun owners. Making it easier for police to know when legal weapons are present in a home could protect both officers and gun owners, for example.

In the meantime, South Carolina mourns the loss of a brave woman who gave her life for her community.

Index-Journal

Oct. 24

Lawmakers should return tax dollars to local governments

It is a message that is heard throughout the state from every city and county. It is the message taxpayers will hear when word comes from their elected councils that their property taxes are going up.

The message? State lawmakers have reneged on their promise to send local governments funding amassed from taxes paid locally. Back in 2008, when the economy essentially tanked and the state found itself in a financial pinch, tax dollars that were to be allotted to local governments remained tucked away in Columbia.

Meanwhile, of course, the costs for governments to provide even the most basic of services municipal and county taxpayers want and expect continues to rise. That essentially leaves the local governments three options: cut expenses by eliminating jobs and some services, raise taxes to meet the rising costs or a combination of the two.

Taxpayers will understandably get irate when saddled with a property tax hike, and they certainly are right to hold the elected and appointed officials accountable in such cases. The councils certainly owe it to the taxpayers to share what cost-saving measures are being implemented and what, if any services, are being curbed or cut.

That said, however, taxpayers ought not hold employees hostage in an effort to avoid a tax hike. When possible, most employers do try to give employees a decent cost of living pay hike. The same is true with city and county employees. They work for the taxpayers and are paid by the taxpayers, but they do, by and large, deserve adequate pay adjustments. Without such, the employees will find work elsewhere, and anyone in business knows the difficulties that accompany the revolving employee door.

So we certainly would hope the city and county leaders are putting pencil to paper and looking for cost-saving measures, something they have already implemented via shared staff and other means, but we are not so naive as to think rising costs will not eventually lead to tax hikes.

If you want to complain, that's fine, but you should probably complain the loudest in Columbia. Tell lawmakers to make good on their promise of returning tax dollars to local governments.