Sunset Beach Town Council votes down part-time beach patrol officer

SUNSET BEACH, NC (WWAY) – Sunset Beach is not adding a part-time police officer to patrol the beach during the summer months.

Town Council had been discussing the idea since the fall, ever since the fire department, who is responsible for beach patrol, discussed the number of requests for police assistance.

Beach patrol crews are not sworn officers and do not carry weapons, they are EMTs. If beach patrol can’t handle the call, officers will respond.

Today council members voted 3-2 against the idea.

Mayor Robert Forrester says they’re in the process of hiring a new police chief and want him to have some input. He also said they’re going to go through a staffing and budget review in the coming months before the summer, so this could be reconsidered later.

Mayor Forrester says the general consensus of those council members who weren’t in favor of the idea, is that there weren’t specifically identified instances that showed an immediate need for it. He says Sunset Beach is a family beach, so some also brought up the idea of the perception of armed officers patrolling the beach.