By By Mitchell Black
Copyright postandcourier
Frazier has a long history of driving violations. Her license has been suspended six times in the past decade. In all other instances, she failed to pay traffic tickets on time.
But recently she has taken issue with an arrest over a spurious violation.
Frazier and her husband alleged in a lawsuit filed this month that she was wrongfully arrested in March 2024. The couple is suing Bluffton, its police department, Chief Joe Babkiewicz, Officer Richard Ramirez and the DMV.
Ramirez pulled Frazier over for driving 21 mph over the speed limit. Her driving record showed that her license was suspended for not paying a traffic ticket, which the DMV soon acknowledged was a mistake.
Ramirez radioed the chain of command, an inquiry that made its way to Babkiewicz because Frazier was the driver. The chief said that he told the officer to handle the situation how he normally would.
In the incident report, Ramirez wrote that he arrested Frazier because of the apparent suspension and an “abundance of suspensions for the same violation and others.”
Frazier had fixed the violations. She did not have any other unpaid tickets at the time.
Babkiewicz previously said his officers followed policy.
She spent 72 minutes in jail. Charges against her were dismissed.
In June 2024, Spann-Wilder sent a letter to Town Manager Stephen Steese demanding $2 million to settle her case. The town held a $1 million policy through the Insurance Reserve Fund. Anything beyond that amount would come from Bluffton’s budget.
The request rankled many in the town — some shared their frustration in a public meeting. But for over a year, the dispute was quiet. Frazier opened Ma Daisy’s Porch, a restaurant in Old Town. Mayor Larry Toomer spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
