South Carolina Senate Confirms New Public Safety Director

By | June 6, 2008

Veteran law enforcement officer Mark Keel said he is ready to get started as the new director of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, an agency under fire recently for allegations of trooper misconduct.

Keel, a 30-year veteran of the State Law Enforcement Division, recently served as its interim chief. His four-year term as Public Safety director will expire in February 2012.

Gov. Mark Sanford nominated Keel to lead the agency that oversees the state Highway Patrol after accepting the resignations in February of Public Safety Director James Schweitzer and Highway Patrol Colonel Russell Roark amid charges of racism among troopers.

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said Keel would be formally sworn in later but could begin work immediately. Keel said he will probably wait a few weeks to get started in his new position.

Topics Politics South Carolina

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