Coroner Beaks Up Parent-Referee Fight

Dorchester County coroner Chris Nisbet stepped in to detain a parent who was allegedly fighting with a referee during a football game Nov. 16 at Gahagan Park.

According to the Summerville Police Department incident report, when police arrived on scene, Nisbet had already stopped the reported fight and detained Billy Joe Bailey of Summerville in the press box. 

"I did it for multiple reasons. One, being it was a children's football game. Two, I did not want the guy to leave and make things worse for himself, at fault or not. Third, I am a sworn law enforcement officer and it is part of doing what's right for my community and its people," Nisbet told Patch via email. 

No arrests were made in the incident, which had some witnesses claiming referee Corlos Juan Lee started the fight and some witnesses claiming Bailey started the fight. Both parties expressed interest in pressing charges, however. 

According to the report, the fight began after the game ended and Bailey claimed there was still a few seconds left on the clock. 

Nisbet is up for reelection in 2012.