ATLANTIC BEACH--Officers from the Atlantic Beach Police Department began an effort to clean up the town’s streets Saturday as part of a mission to repair the town’s image.
Chief Eric Lewis and Lt. Randy Fisher are getting back to doing what they love the most by being officers who make a difference in the communities they serve.
Both were out of work for several weeks this winter. Fisher says he was forced to resign from North Myrtle Beach Public Safety. Lewis says he was wrongfully fired by the same department. They had worked for the city for 34 years combined.
“It’s strange to hear me say this, I know I’m a police officer, but I’m going to tell you just like it is. I feel like this job was almost like a calling from God. I feel like there was a higher power that may have had something to do with this,” said Lewis.
But now they're working in Atlantic Beach, putting in long hours to clean up the town and their efforts are already being noticed the town's residents.
“Basically what we're trying to do is we've got the landowners who are going to clean this up, we picked up trash all day today, we got dumpsters out for people to put trash in, we're going to start addressing the properties that need to be cleaned up and go there,” Fisher told one resident.
“Good job. Appreciate you being here. In all the years, I’ve been here all my life, 38 years and all the years I’ve been here, you're the first cop, and him to actually get down on the ground and work” one resident told Fisher.
And people young and old are following their lead as nearly 80 people from the town and across the Grand Strand picked up litter and cleaned the town today, all on a volunteer basis.
A condemned motel building was also knocked down today, in an effort to clean up the town's image.
Town manager William Booker says he couldn't be happier with the initiative taken by Lewis and Fisher.
“They are experienced, dedicated public safety officers. They don't look at their job as just policing, or they look at policing in a more broad way. Improving the livability in a community is very important in having a safe community. I'm extremely happy with what they're doing,” said Booker.
And Fisher and Lewis say the chance to clean up Atlantic Beach is the perfect opportunity for them to rebound from all they've been through in the last year.
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