Charleston Police Chief Tyke Hunt gained a reputation through the years as a solid officer. Former Charleston Mayor Danny Jones speaks highly of him. “He’s a cop’s cop,” Jones told me.
Jones’ successor, Mayor Amy Schuler Goodwin, said when she searched for a new chief, one name kept coming up—Tyke Hunt.
But now Hunt is in trouble.
The Scoop Squad podcast recently aired a lengthy interview with Jenny Harless, who recounted in detail a brief affair with Hunt in March and April of 2022. Hunt is married, and extramarital affairs are generally private matters… until they are not.
At issue is an instance where, according to Harless, Hunt invited her to his city office after hours where she says he disrobed and pulled her on top of him. Hunt has a different version of events.
There were also suggestive texts exchanged and Hunt sent her intimate pictures.
Harless says they never met in person again and not long after that, Hunt stopped contacting her. Harless then sent Hunt’s wife, Jessica, screenshots of texts revealing her provocative communications with Hunt and specifics of the office encounter.
A few days later, Harless says, an FBI agent and a State Trooper contacted her, saying they were responding to a complaint related to her conversations with Jessica Hunt. That prompted Harless to complain to the City of Charleston that she was being harassed.
The City responded with an investigation by their Human Resources Department, although that was not confirmed until just this week when City Council member Shannon Snodgrass raised the issue at Monday’s meeting.
“There is no disputing that something inexcusable occurred on public time and with the use of public resources,” Snodgrass said. “It is then alleged that law enforcement was sent to her (Harless’s) job and then to her home over something that was admittedly not a crime.”
Snodgrass called for an independent investigation. “This has to be done for full transparency,” she said. “I want to ensure that this complaint is investigated properly, (that) the woman’s civil rights were not violated and that she receives due process.”
Charleston City Attorney Kevin Baker released a statement later Monday: “I can assure you that all complaints received by the City including this one are seriously investigated. The city’s HR Department investigates complaints against City employees, makes recommendations, and implements discipline. It is the City policy not to comment on specific Human Resource matters.”
That may be the policy, but it is not practical in this case.
At the very least, Chief Hunt exercised poor judgement. It is also reasonable to question why an FBI agent would be investigating what amounts to a domestic dispute. Snodgrass also questions whether there is a double standard of discipline—one of the Chief and another for officers who would have complaints involving them brought before the City’s Professional Standards Division.
The events of last year were just City Hall and police department gossip for months, but now the details are spilling out into the open. As former Mayor Jones said on Talkline Tuesday, “Bad news does not get better with age.”
The public does not need every intimate detail—that would satisfy prurient interests—but it does require more transparency of how the city handled the investigation and whether Chief Hunt was disciplined for his bad behavior.