SLED closes Chapin mayor investigation as complainant speaks out
The state law enforcement investigation into Chapin Mayor Bill Mitchell has been closed with no charges being filed, even as the woman who made the initial complaint against him is speaking out.
A spokesperson with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division confirmed to The State that the agency had concluded its investigation into an accusation Mitchell had assaulted a town employee on the same day he was sworn in back in November. The State has requested copies of SLED’s records on the investigation.
SLED’s decision is leading the alleged victim of that assault to speak out publicly about it, as she and other town employees contemplate taking legal action on their own.
Briana Eargle is still technically Chapin’s clerk of court and town hall office manager, but she was placed on leave by the new mayor the Monday after the altercation before Mitchell’s impromptu swearing in on Nov. 7.
“That Friday, he stormed in and demanded access to the courtroom” in town hall, to which Eargle held the key, she told The State.
She said town staff had no prior notice that the mayor-elect would be coming in to be sworn in the day after his Nov. 4 election victory was certified. Newly elected officials normally wouldn’t be sworn in until the following January, but Mitchell argued he was entitled to be sworn in immediately after the death of former Mayor Al Koon left the mayor’s office vacant.
When Eargle declined, citing town policy regulating access to the courtroom, “He grabbed me by both arms and he shakes me,” Eargle said. “Then I went back into my office and I told the police chief what happened.”
When Mitchell found out about the complaint to SLED, Eargle said the new mayor came to her office the following Monday and placed her on leave, which she called retaliation against her for filing a police complaint against him.
“He told me he’d heard nothing but glowing reviews about my performance, and the reason I was being put on leave out of prudence because of the SLED investigation,” he said.
She said two other town employees witnessed the alleged assault, one of whom she said has since been written up and another has been fired. Eargle claimed town employees had been told not to cooperate with the SLED investigation.
Attorneys Debbie Barbier and Marion Moses said they were prepared to bring legal action on behalf of Eargle and four other town employees who have clashed in some way with the mayor. They declined to identify their other clients, but because all five are women, they said they would be pursuing complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the S.C. Human Affairs Commission in addition to a potential lawsuit.
“In 2026, for a woman to be subject to physical abuse in the workplace and for witnesses to be retaliated against by the leader of a town is outrageous,” Barbier said. “These are dedicated public servants with exemplary records who have seen a dramatic change in their experiences in the workplace since this mayor has taken office.”
Mitchell denied any inappropriate behavior when asked after a specially-called Chapin Town Council meeting on Tuesday, and touted SLED’s decision as an exoneration.
“Anyone can accuse you of something, but the state’s top law enforcement agency has decided there’s nothing to it,” Mitchell said.
Asked about the possibility of legal action from Eargle, the mayor said, “Hopefully as in the investigation, the truth will bear out there as well.”
The mayor and town council members met behind closed doors to discuss an employment matter, but Eargle and her attorneys said Friday they didn’t know if the matter was related to her, and Mitchell declined to discuss specifics with members of the media after the meeting.
Chapin has doubtlessly undergone major changes since Mitchell took office. He campaigned on the promise to be an active mayor who took on the responsibilities of the town’s professional administrator. By the end of November, he announced a settlement with then-Town Administrator Nicholle Burroughs in which she would leave the position and Mitchell would become a full-time mayor.
Eargle said other employees have since left, and she’s been told the mayor’s is now the only occupied office on the town hall’s administrative wing.
Mitchell said Friday he was focused on town business despite what he called “distractions.”
“It’s been more difficult than anticipated, but we’re working through it,” he said. “I have not missed a beat as mayor. I can deal with the distractions on one hand and town business with the other, so citizens, don’t be worried about me being distracted.”
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