On September 18, 2012 the Simpsonville Police Department hired a new Chief of Police. The newly appointed Chief, Keith P. Grounsell, came with a pedigree that was far different from his predecessor. Chief Grounsell had his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and law enforcement experience at the city, county, state, federal and international levels. The citizens felt blessed to bring in such a well-rounded lawman to head up the police department in our town. Although he had a rough beginning when he stood steadfast to end public corruption, he was able to overcome the problems in the city that he inherited. Since his inception, Chief Grounsell has been able to change the face of the police department. He made some changes by upgrading their equipment and bringing in a more educated police force. All of this was done to keep up with the demands of this fast growing city. Chief Grounsell has truly made his mark by implementing more than 30 plus community based programs and putting the needs of the citizens as the main priority. To say it lightly, he has been a blessing and is a true asset to the citizens.
In furtherance of his endeavor to better serve the citizens, Chief Grounsell recently graduating from the 74th Session of the Command Officer Development Course (CODC) through the Southern Police Institute (SPI), which is part of the University of Louisville. The Southern Police Institute’s CODC and AOC classes and the FBI’s National Academy are considered to be among the top law enforcement executive training courses across the country.
As part of this course, over the last 5 months, Chief Grounsell attended 10-weeks/400 hours of specialized police command level training in Winter Haven, Florida. This class consisted of 51 senior police leaders from the southeastern region of the United States. In the end, Chief Grounsell graduated number 2 out of 51 police commanders/supervisors, with a final grade point average of 98.8625. The number one student’s grade point average was 98.88, which is a difference of 0.0175 or 1/175th of a point above Chief Grounsell. All of this was accomplished while Chief Grounsell ran the police department at night, attended class all day and studied whenever he could find time during his 15-18 hour workdays.
