Ex-Lake City official claims boss said his hiring was to ‘satisfy the racial appearance’

LAKE CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — Lake City’s ex-deputy administrator and police chief was hired to keep up “racial appearances” and was forced to resign following a targeted campaign to undermine his credibility, a newly filed lawsuit claims.

Jody Cooper left both positions in October with a severance package of $25,000 and another $2,500 in time-off benefits.

His resignation was effective on Oct. 30, and he did not submit an official letter announcing his intent.

A lawsuit filed Monday in Florence County Common Pleas Court names City Administrator William Hall and Mayor Yamekia Robinson as defendants. Cooper accuses both of breach of contract, civil conspiracy and constructive termination.

Spokeswoman Donna Tracy told News13 on Wednesday that Lake City doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Attorney referral site EmploymentLawHelp.com defines constructive termination as a “particular form of employment termination in which an employee is so intimidated by the conditions experienced in the workplace that they voluntarily resign.”

Cooper was hired in March 2021 as police chief and promoted several months later to deputy administrator.

“Plaintiff assumed his new job duty and was met with a hostile work environment by Defendant Hall, despite him conducting dual roles efficiently for over a year without any reprimands,” the complaint says.

Cooper became Lake City’s permanent police chief in 2021 and assumed the role of deputy city administrator in July 2022.

According to a Facebook post from Lake City, Cooper participated in an extensive interview process for the police chief’s job that began in December 2020 and included an interview panel made up of Lake City’s executive management team, which found him “knowledgeable, prepared and highly motivated” to serve the law enforcement needs of the community.

Since 2016, Cooper has served as an investigator, training officer and gang intervention coordinator with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, according to the post.

Cooper in June 2022 told Hall he was worried about “involuntary exclusions from official meetings, economic projects and communications” that prevented him from doing his job properly.

Hall then told Cooper he was only appointed as deputy administrator to “satisfy the racial appearances for the Council of Lake City,” according to the lawsuit.

Cooper was barred from tasks normally carried out by a deputy administrator while repeatedly undermined by Hall and Robinson that “tarnished his reputation and his credibility to his subordinates,” the lawsuit claims.

In September 2023, Robinson conducted several interviews with Cooper’s subordinates while he was out of town on business, in an effort to smear his reputation. The mayor “implemented strong-arm tactics in this interview process and selected subordinates who were recently reprimanded or received disciplinary action from the Plaintiff,” Cooper’s lawsuit says.

A month later, Cooper was invited to a private meeting between Hall and Robinson, who told him he needed to resign or be fired.

Cooper is seeking a jury trial for unspecified financial damages.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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