Meyers is next top cop in Port Royal saying, “the public needs to know what’s going on”

Port Royal has hired a former Florida law enforcement officer to lead its police department after a nationwide search that drew 35 applicants who were narrowed last week to three finalists.

Jeffrey Meyers was offered and accepted the job of chief of police, Town Manager Van Willis told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet Tuesday.

“I feel extremely honored,” Meyers said. “I did a lot of research prior to applying. It’s a great city.”

During a meeting to introduce three finalists last week, the candidates were asked to pick one word that would best describe themselves. Meyers replied, “transparent.” Although transparency has become a catchy buzzword in law enforcement, he said, it applies to how he goes about his business. Many problems begin with miscommunication, he said. Police officers, he added, make mistakes because it’s a tough job but “the public needs to know what’s going on.”

At Fort Meyers, Meyers said, he helped to improve public trust by creating new levels of transparency and accountability while also boosting officer morale through better internal communications and training opportunities.

Meyers was hired for the Port Royal job because of his “entire working experience” and knowledge of emergency management issues, Willis, the town manager said.

“I think a lot of the council and the public was super impressed with his presentation in person,” Willis said. “And his resume speaks for itself.”

An expansive background check was conducted “and we’re pleased with everything we heard,” Willis said.

Meyers will start work Oct. 4. Meyers said his annual salary will be $110,000.

Meyers, 55, was deputy chief for six years in Fort Myers, Fla., a 350-employee police department with a $56 million budget in the community of 86,395 on the west coast of Florida.

His resume states that he developed and implemented the Fort Myers Police Department’s Strategic Plan that helped achieve a 40% reduction in crime through data-driven proactive policing, decentralizing resources and improving community relationships.

Meyers retired in August 2023, a few months after the Fort Myers department began the process of picking a successor of the late Chief Derick Diggs. Meyers did not apply for the job.

“I had 32 years in,” Meyers told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet on why he retired. “That’s a long time to be in law enforcement and I was ready to try other things.”

Meyers, who lives outside of Naples, took a year off and went to work as a consultant for Critical Response Strategies in Jacksonville on an as-needed basis.

But, “I found out I’m just too young to retire,” Meyers told the Town Council when members interviewed three finalists for the Port Royal chief’s job last week.

Meyers said Tuesday that he wanted to return to smaller a law enforcement agency. He spent 23 years, from 1994 to 2017, with the police department of 37 officers in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of 22,000 on the east side of Cleveland. Port Royal, which has more than 16,000 residents, has a force of 32 officers.

He chose to look for work in South Carolina because the Cleveland native’s family vacationed on Hilton Head and he hopes to retire in the state following the end of his law enforcement career.

Meyers replaces Alan Beach , who retired after 37 years with the department including the last 12 as chief.

Besides Meyers, the other finalists for the chief’s job were Kevin Pierce, a former Pennsylvania State Trooper who retired two weeks ago as chief of South Coatesville, Pa., police department, and Capt. Andre Massey, an operations captain with the Port Royal Department.

When asked about community policing during last week’s interview of the finalists, Meyers said “community policing is policing today.”

“The days of rolling up the windows and leaving the AC (air conditioning) on are gone,” Meyers said.

Good police officers, he said, should be able to answer questions from the public and know all of business owners on their beat. Preferably, officers will live in the community where they work, Meyers said, but that’s not always possible depending on area housing prices.