Former North Myrtle Beach Police officer Jeff Senter outside his grievance hearing Monday morning.
/ Holly Morgan
A grievance hearing for a former North Myrtle Beach police officer was held Monday morning.
Jeff Senter claims he was wrongly terminated by the city.
Senter was fired after a confrontation he had with the wife of SC Representative Tracy Edge, (R) North Myrtle Beach.
"It's the first time I've been able to defend myself in what you'd call a neutral atmosphere. You have four employees in there who really don't know anything except what they've heard in the rumor mills. I presented them with materials that they have probably never seen and was able to give my complete side of the story," Senter said to NewsChannel 15's Holly Morgan after the hearing.
Monday's grievance hearing was originally open to the public, but Friday afternoon the city said Senter had requested the hearing be held in Executive Session and closed to the public.
Senter said he decided the hearing should be closed to the public after reviewing dash cam video of Mrs. Edge and the incident in question while preparing his case last week. It was the first time he'd seen the video and didn't feel it was necessary for the public to see.
"I don't want the video released because it's a person that's having an emotional issue, a personal problem and I believe in situations like that ... they don't need to be out on the streets for people to watch. It could be a mother, a father, a child... people have emotional issues and personal problems, but that's not a criminal matter," Senter added.
The grievance committee is expected to make a decision on whether to re-hire Senter within the next 20 days.
He said he will respect whatever decision is made, but Senter wants the public to know that over his two decades of service he believes he's always done the right thing.
"I've dedicated dedicated 23 years to the citizens of the city of North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach and I was a good policeman and I treated everyone fairly in each incident," Senter said.
