Two Officers Suspended After Secret Conversation Was Printed in Paper

North Myrtle Beach City Manager John Smithson announced Monday the suspension of two officers after secretly-recorded conversations were printed in The Sun News. The subject matter in this story may not be suitable for some readers.

The recordings, taped by a former NMB officer, contains what city leaders call derogatory and sexist remarks made by two employees of the Public Safety department.

Mayor Marilyn Hatley, Smithson, and council members held a news conference to address the recorded comments.

Those recordings were made by former North Myrtle Beach Lt. Randy Fisher, who says he was forced to resign from the department at the end of 2009.

The city leaders announced that the two men heard on the audio recordings, Major Walt Floyd and Lt. Don Repec have been placed on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation by the city manager's office.

In one of the recordings, Fisher, Floyd and Repec are heard discussing an incident where a 14-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend were found naked in a bed.

Fisher can be heard saying the boy violated the law and should be charged with criminal sexual conduct.

Floyd then says, "I'm not going to do a damn thing to him."

Floyd continues by saying the girl's parents should do a better job of raising her and that she should take pills so she won't get pregnant "because she can't take care of a child."

He then goes on to say women "like that" should be required to be neutered to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

"If you're not able to take care of a consequential responsibility, then you shouldn't be having sex at that time," Lt. Repec is heard saying.

Repec then goes on to suggest the 14-year-old and 17-year-old should perform sexual acts other than intercourse to prevent pregnancy. NewsChannel 15 has chosen not to print what Repec said because of the graphic language used.

Floyd was serving as interim public safety director in the wake of former Public Safety Director William Bailey's suspension, investigation, and eventual demotion to lieutenant over lies he told after the theft of his service weapon from his truck.

Mayor Hatley said she and the council are dismayed, disgusted, and sickened by the content and graphic descriptions made by some of the city's public safety employees in the recordings.

She said they do not excuse the behavior, but Hatley says she's disappointed and disturbed that Fisher would allow these things to happen while he idly sat by, only reporting them after his termination.

Hatley said as a public safety officer, it was Fisher's duty and responsibility to bring the information to the city manager, and he did not do so.

When reached for comment Monday afternoon, Fisher said he did try to bring to light the issues he felt existed, by meeting with the assistant city manager in June of 2009. Fisher said he also wrote a letter in August and told the assistant city manager he had the tapes.

Fisher said nothing was ever done.

When asked if Fisher tried to bring to light the issues, city spokeswoman Nicole Aiello wrote in an e-mail:

"Mr. Fisher did bring some issues, like his allegations of favoritism, to management's attention, but Mr. Fisher did not bring anything along the lines of what was heard on The Sun News website to management. Mr. Fisher had a duty to bring these conversations and serious issues to the City Manager, and he did not do so."

Captain Rick Buddelmeyer has been named interim public safety director.