By Andy Paras
The Post and Courier
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A raucous birthday celebration downtown last weekend landed four Lowcountry firefighters in jail on disorderly conduct charges.
Three of the firefighters were arrested after Charleston police said they were drunk and fighting in front of a downtown pub. The fourth was found staggering along East Bay Street about 30 minutes later, according to an incident report.
One of the firefighters involved said the friends were arguing, not fighting.
“The cops thought it was more than it was,” Hanahan firefighter Benjamin Chinners said.
Chinners said the firefighters were celebrating the 21st birthday of Troy Driscoll.
Driscoll is a North Charleston firefighter who made national headlines in 2005 when he and a friend were lost at sea for six days after their 14-foot sailboat drifted away from Sullivan’s Island while on what was supposed to be a short fishing trip.
Police arrested Chinners, Driscoll and his father, North Charleston Fire Capt. Anthony J. Driscoll, 47, after they said the three “were being loud and aggressive toward each other.”
Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, who happened to be at the scene, was one of three officers who pulled the firefighters apart. Officers noted in the report that the elder Driscoll was slurring his speech and couldn’t stand up without leaning on an officer’s cruiser.
Officers took the men into custody because they were “grossly intoxicated” and fighting on a public sidewalk, the report said.
James Island firefighter George Green, 24, was arrested about 30 minutes later after officers found him stumbling along East Bay Street. Officers reported that he couldn’t stand without leaning against the building behind him.
When officers learned he was planning to go home with the three men they already arrested, they arrested him, as well. Green threw up in the police car on the way to the jail, according to the report.
All four men were released from the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center later that day. The Driscolls paid a fine. Chinners and Green both posted bail, according to a jail official. The fine and bail amounts were not immediately known.
North Charleston Fire Chief Greg Bulanow said he investigated Sunday’s events and met with the Driscolls on Monday. Both were issued letters of reprimand for unprofessional behavior, he said.
“They both admitted to me that they used poor judgment,” Bulanow said. “They were very forthcoming.”
Troy Driscoll and Green both declined to comment. Driscoll’s father, a 20-year-veteran of the department, could not be reached for comment.
James Island Fire Chief Chris Seabolt said he didn’t know about Green’s arrest on Tuesday, but expected to know more about it once the 24-year-old showed up for his next shift.
Chinners, the only one to comment, questioned the newsworthiness of the arrests and worried the publicity might cost them their jobs. He said he had planned to tell his bosses when his next shift began.
“We did wrong,” Chinners said. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
Copyright 2011 The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
All Rights Reserved