Frazier extends deadline on $2M demand until council discussion. Is it on the agenda?
Town council member Bridgette Frazier previously gave Bluffton until 5 p.m. Monday to write her a seven-figure check for a wrongful arrest claim. That deadline passed and now she and her attorney say they are willing to wait a little longer for the council to discuss it. The problem is, it’s not on the council’s agenda for July.
A letter submitted to the town of Bluffton on June 25 demanded $2 million as compensation for what Frazier is alleging was a “false arrest and false imprisonment” stemming from a March 9 traffic stop.
Attorney Tiffany Spann-Wilder, who represents Frazier, told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that they are extending the timeline on Frazier’s demand because the council didn’t have an opportunity to discuss the demand.
“(The town) communicated with us upon receipt of the letter that the council would not have had the opportunity prior to that, and so we are allowing them an opportunity to meet and get back to us,” Spann-Wilder said.
The next council meeting is Tuesday night, but no discussion of the matter is on the agenda. Bluffton Mayor Larry Toomer told the newspapers Tuesday morning that he wasn’t aware of any amendment to the night’s agenda. If the council doesn’t discuss the demand on Tuesday night, the next opportunity will be August 13.
Officials within the town continue to say that any further action on the demand letter or possible litigation is entirely in the hands of the South Carolina Insurance Reserve Fund.
As a council member, Frazier will recuse herself from discussing the payment, “even if they did not require it of her,” her lawyer said.
One of a kind claim
The rarity of a council member suing the town they represent is unique.
“It is a precarious situation. However, in her role as a council person, she stepped forward to represent the interest of people there in the town, and if she is not able to be the voice of standing up for what’s right in her own matters, that would be hypocritical,” Spann-Wilder said. “So if nothing else, she definitely has to move forward with making sure that there’s justice. Because how do you support everyday citizens when things like this happen, when it happens to you if you just kind of walk away?”
Spann-Wilder said If the demand is not met, Frazier will look for a settlement option but is prepared, as a last resort, to sue the town. “We hope that we’ll be able to do that (settlement option) outside of any formal litigation, and maybe even pre-suit mediation. But we’re trying to get this done as expeditiously as possible,” she said.
Frazier was pulled over for speeding by the town’s police department near the intersection of Bluffton Parkway and Persimmon Street. She was subsequently arrested for allegedly driving with a suspended license. “The suspect’s driving record was extensive with an abundance of suspensions for the same violation along with others. These factors coupled with her current suspension aided in my determination to place the suspect under arrest,” Officer Ramirez wrote in the report.
The letter cites that the charges against Frazier were dropped.
After winning re-election last year Frazier will hold her seat on the town council until 2028.
Attempts to reach Frazier were unsuccessful.
In addition to representing Frazier, Spann-Wilder serves as the District 109 representative in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Her district includes parts of Charleston and Dorchester Counties. She is a member of the Democratic caucus in the state house.
