Speak Out: Should Simpsonville Council Open Up on Grounsell Firing?

In the wake of the City Council's firing of popular Simpsonville Police Chief Keith Grounsell, the question on everybody's mind is "why?"

Following the Council's 5-2 vote Friday night to terminate Grounsell after only four months on the job, Mayor Perry Eichor and Council members have either declined to comment or have ignored Patch's and other media requests for an explanation.

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The Council hired Grounsell and has the authority to fire him; and, the Council is not compelled by law to publicly discuss a personnel matter. 

One obvious reason for Council not to talk at this time is that Grounsell's firing is ripe for legal action. Indeed, Grounsell told Patch immediately after his firing that he planned to discuss legal options with his attorney. He also said his firing had more to do with his trying to address and fix long-standing alleged corruption and low morale within the department than with his performance as chief. 

"I think it will take a SLED or FBI investigation to get to the bottom of this whole mess," Grounsell told Patch.

However, with confidence in City Council waning, and dissatisfaction and mistrust growing, (evidenced by numerous comments on Patch and a fast-growing Facebook page in support of Grounsell), should the Council provide city residents with at least some level of detail about why they fired him?

Speak your mind and tell us what you think in the comments below.