What Were They Thinking?

News out of Fountain Inn, SC this morning said that a former police officer with that department, 31-year-old Adam Snelgrove, was arrested by the State Law Enforcement Division ( which is similar to Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation ) for kissing and fondling a 15-year-old female in 2012.

In his cruiser. While on duty.

The incidents occurred over a six-month period at a place called 'Frankie's Fun Park', indicating this activity happened several times. Snelgrove was terminated from his job before charges were brought and it is unknown if his firing was as a result of this investigation. He was South Carolina's 'Officer of the Year' in 2014 for departments with between 11 and twenty-five officers.

Snelgrove faces the possibility of fifteen years in prison if convicted.

Mansfield's had it's share of officers who ran afoul of the law. Mike Garn, Bill Clemons and David Minard are three that come quickly to mind.

You have to ask yourself, "What were they thinking?"

These men were police officers. They knew the law and the consequences of their actions. They had well-paying, solid jobs with benefits, yet they chose to jeopardize their careers and livelihood by engaging in criminal conduct which eventually put them behind bars with some of the same convicts they'd arrested. I cannot imagine their time in prison was/is pleasant.

They gambled, lost and paid the price. If Adam Snelgrove is convicted, he'll pay the price, too.

As well he should, just like the others.