NCAA FootballPolice Blotter

Officer Fired For Message Board Posting About Pulling Over Dabo Swinney

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney was pulled over in Pickens, SC, for speeding way back on September 3rd. Almost two weeks later, it turns out the officer involved, Michael McClatchy of the Pickens Police Department, has been posting all about it on the Internet.

In a posting on Sports247.com which has since been removed (but recounted in the Pickens County Courier), McClatchy gave his version of the incident’s events.

The officer said he believed Swinney “thought he would be excused for the violation and continue to his appointment.” He said Swinney and his brother were asked to have a seat in the vehicle, which they did not. The officer also said the Bi-Lo store manager approached him and told him a city official was on the phone and would like to speak with him, but the officer declined.

According to the officer, Swinney’s brother said that he was a retired Alabama police officer with more than 30 years of experience and asked the officer to take the fact into consideration.

McClatchy also wrote that Swinney gave him “an unfriendly glare” before leaving and entering the Bi-Lo. McClatchy was then fired six days later for what police chief Rodney Gregory called a “violation of city computer policy, violation of code of ethics and violation of general orders.”

Luckily, the whole incident was captured via the officer’s dashboard camera. Warning: the following footage is extremely boring.

What do you think? Should the officer have been fired? Was Swinney’s glare really that “unfriendly”? Have you ever shopped at a Bi-Lo? Let us know!

[Pickens County Courier, via CBS Sports]

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