OCT 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 10.1

Surfside Beach gets a new police chief.
Does a relatively inexperienced former Town Marshall from
Santa Fe Texas have what it takes to turn the dept around?
SURFSIDE BEACH — Back last
August, after more than 20 years
of service to the village of Surfside
Beach, Police Chief Gary
Phillips headed off for retirement,
leaving a vacancy at the
top of the department.
“He was ready to retire, and he
headed for retirement the first of
this month,” Mayor Gregg Bisso
said. “We all hated to see him
retire. He’s been the backbone of
this department for years and it’s
going to be hard to replace him.”
Phillips had been the chief of
Surfside since 2010. Before that
he was captain under former
chief Randy Smith. He has served
on the village force since May
2000.
The search was on to find a
new chief to take the reins and
guide the police department
for the near future. Applicants,
including former Chiefs of Police
from various other agencies,
applied for the position, Bisso
said, and city officials began the
process of narrowing down the
list.
Ultimately, they choose a former
Town Marshall from Santa
Fe Texas, Robert Wood, to fill the
position.
“We needed change and we
needed to get someone in here
who could lead the department
as it needs to be in 2021,” Alderman
Bob Petty said.
A fresh set of eyes could also
help alleviate some of the problems
the town has seen in the
past, Petty said, such as people
not following rules on the
beaches.
The job description posted
on the village’s website states
the ideal candidate must hold a
Master Peace Officer certification
through the Texas Commission of
Law Enforcement and at least 10
years of full-time, executive-level
experience in law enforcement.
Also, applicants for the new
chief’s had to oversee the village’s
emergency medical responses.
“Our police officers are both
police and EMS,” Bisso said.
“They have to wear two hats
every day.”
But by the time Woods took
over, the department had dwindled
down to a small handful
of officers, most of which were
reserves.
But before that, things were
anything but perfect in this small
town of barely one thousand
residents.
Under the former Police Chief’s
watch, former Surfside Beach
Sgt. Randy Heckler had been
suspended for disposing of items
from the department’s evidence
room.
Ultimately, he served a month’s
suspension with pay after the
issue came to light.
To provide background on
what happened, Heckler took responsibility
for cleaning out the
evidence room and eliminate any
items the department no longer
needed to keep. In addressing the
situation with council, Heckler
admitted he didn’t have experience
or training for the task but
did his best based on research
and consultations with Phillips.
His misjudgment came in
how he chose to dispose of the
obsolete evidence. Instead of
ensuring all the items had been
destroyed, Heckler put the items
in a bag, smashed it repeatedly
against concrete and tossed
it in a dumpster near the boat
ramp, the sergeant told council.
He never looked inside the bag
to confirm items had been sufficiently
ruined, and some items
were retrieved by a dumpster
diver.
For the error of improper evidence
disposal, Phillips recommended
Heckler be demoted to
patrol officer and suspended for
seven days. The chief is not able
to demote or suspend an officer
without pay without council’s
approval, prompting council’s
discussion at the end of its July
13, 2021, meeting.
Council voted against Phillips’
recommendation with the expectation
members could then discuss
and institute a punishment
they considered more fitting. But
since an official vote had been
taken, attorney Patton Ritter
told them, they could no longer
discuss it.
Ultimately both Heckler and
Phillips left the department,
which was left without a chief
or for that matter many officers,
Ready To Serve You
since last August.
Robert Woods took over the
day Hurricane Nicholas rolled
through Surfside wrecking half
the structures in the small town.
The old saying “You have your
work cut out for you,” certainly
applies to Chief Woods and his
mission to rebuild Surfside Beach
PD.
If you’re looking for a sleepy
little to town to call home and
you’d like to be one of the town’s
police and paramedics, perhaps
Surfside is just the ticket for you.
For information contact:
Jim Rodriguez • Law Enforcement Sales Professional • 915-422-6446
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