Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
CONWAY — One of Horry County's top officials was accused of sexually harassing a police officer a day before he notified county leaders of his plans to retire, according to records obtained by The Post and Courier. The 30-year-old officer alleged in a statement to human resources that Assistant Administrator Randy Webster, who had been employed by the county for more than 36 years and worked in a building named after him, kissed her cheek, told her that he dreamed about her and called her "desirable.” Webster officially retired Nov. 3, citing health issues. "This is crazy,” said Kelsey Manemeit, the officer who made the accusations. She was an investigator with the Horry County Police Department until the county forced her to resign alongside other officers amid allegations of sexual relationships among coworkers. Reached Nov. 12, Webster said he was aware Manemeit had provided a statement to the county's HR department but said he didn't know exactly what it contained until he was contacted by the newspaper. "Obviously, I retired because of what I wrote” in an email to staff that cited health problems, he said. "I'm not familiar with being accused of any sexual harassment." In response to questions from The Post and Courier, county spokesman Thomas Bell said in an email that Webster was aware of Manemeit’s HR complaint but retired before the investigation could be completed. Bell said Webster was not forced to retire. Webster's departure marked the end of what had been a celebrated career. He arrived as a paramedic in 1989 just before Hurricane Hugo and built a reputation as the calm-and-steady emergency management director who shepherded the county through tropical storms and historic floods. Some county leaders floated the idea of installing Webster as interim county administrator in 2019. He was a finalist for the county's top position just last year. Webster was such a beloved figure among county officials that when they finished building a new hub for emergency services in 2022, they named it the Randall S. Webster Emergency Operations & Communications Center. That was the building where Manemeit worked. A complaint, a swift retirement and resignations On Oct. 16, Manemeit made her allegations in the statement provided to human resources. The document outlined her assertions about Webster, who oversaw the county's public safety departments. The next day, Webster informed County Administrator Barry Spivey that he would be retiring. Manemeit described a barrage of texts from Webster and how some of the messages made her uncomfortable. In her statement, she said Webster, who is married, sent her a message on Oct. 6 that said "you can't help being beautiful and desirable. So it is what it is." Manemeit also said Webster told her he had dreams about her. In one instance, she alleged, he told her that he dreamed they were swimming together in a creek and that the dream made it difficult for him to focus on work. She said he indicated that she wore little clothing in his dreams. "It made me feel like he was telling me that he see's (sic) me naked all day long," her statement said. During that same conversation, Webster wanted to know if people had asked if the two of them were sleeping together, according to the statement. She reported that Webster's behavior was problematic. "Randy has kissed me on my cheek multiple times," Manemeit's statement read. "When he goes to hug me, I will turn my head so that he can't kiss me." Webster said he wanted to review Manemeit's HR statement, which described his text messages, before responding. He said the allegations sounded "pretty awful." In his email to Spivey, Webster said he would be retiring Nov. 3 "due to unforeseen medical issues," according to an email released by the county. By Oct. 20, Webster had emailed county staff about his pending departure. "Working here has brought a lot of joy but also a lot of sorrow," Webster wrote. "You may not be aware that I have almost died twice most recently in May when I ended up in ICU and I can attest that the stresses of the job contributed to those events and I have other ongoing medical issues to battle as well. One thing I have realized is that working here is wonderful but it has also consumed me and because of that I was becoming a person I did not know. Maybe not on the outside but without a doubt on the inside. I was losing touch with who 'Randy' is with you and especially with my family. The struggles are real and I have chosen to address them by making a significant change moving forward through retirement." Reading Webster's retirement announcement, Manemeit said she felt a mixture of relief and hurt. In an interview with The Post and Courier, Manemeit said she was relieved she would no longer be working with him. She was hurt that the message noted his health issues but didn't mention what she had reported to HR. Manemeit said she felt as though county officials had whitewashed Webster's sudden retirement but said she was ready to move on. She said she’d been going through a difficult divorce and considered work an escape. Then came Nov. 6, which is when she said county officials told her she could resign or be fired. Police leaders had heard allegations that her relationship with a special operations officer had created an "unharmonious working environment" because Manemeit's husband was an officer on the same team, according to an internal affairs report of suspected improper relationships within the department. Along with Manemeit, Sgt. Torry Lewis, Detective Don Kobithen, Lt. Misty Gore and public information officer Mikayla Moskov also resigned in connection with the internal affairs investigation. The following day the county took the unusual step of issuing a news release to announce the police resignations, saying they stemmed from the internal affairs review that "resulted in the discovery of violations of the code of conduct." That invited a flurry of public records requests from reporters. Just after 6 p.m. Nov. 7, the county's interim public information officer released a report that offered more detailed allegations about why the officers and the spokeswoman had lost their jobs: They were accused of having sex with coworkers, some of whom were married. "Horry County Police Department is committed to maintaining the highest professional standards, and appropriate conduct for its officers," the department's release said. Transparency or a double standard? County officials insist they quickly released the information about the resignations to be fully transparent with the public. They also contend the ouster of the officers and spokeswoman was not related to Webster's retirement. But to Manemeit, the rushed release of the internal affairs report — the county historically hasn't provided those records on the same day they're requested — is evidence of a double standard: The county said nothing about the allegations that preceded Webster's exit, yet they swiftly outed rank-and-file workers after allegations of off-duty affairs. The Post and Courier submitted a public records request on Oct. 23 for Webster's personnel file, complaints against him and other related materials. None of those records have been released yet. Manemeit also said that what the county has provided doesn't tell the full story. She got married in 2018 but has been separated from her husband, Michael, according to court records. In court filings, she accused her husband of adultery and blamed him for the breakup of their marriage. On Sept. 23, a temporary consent order was filed outlining the terms of their separation, including their right to live apart. Michael Manemeit Jr. declined to be interviewed for this story. Dream job turns into 'nightmare' Kelsey Manemeit had only been employed by the county since May. Before that, she spent nearly six years with the Conway Police Department, advancing from patrol officer to detective. Manemeit said she met Webster in 2021 when she and her husband bought a house in Conway across the street from his residence. Early on, she said, she mostly made small talk with Webster, but over time they began to discuss work. Manemeit said she had noticed gaps in the mental health care system. She routinely saw people taken to jail who she thought should have been receiving treatment. "It just creates a vicious cycle," she said. At the same time, county officials had been talking about ways to address those systemic challenges. Manemeit said Webster approached her about a new position that would combine her police background with her interest in improving mental health services. Manemeit admits she wasn't exactly sure what the job would entail, but she knew Webster was respected and she felt she could adapt over time. And the salary was also appealing to a single mother with three children under age 10. She was making just over $70,000 with Conway police. At the county, she said she was paid more than $90,000 and had received a raise during her brief time there (a county spokesman said in an email she received a raise due to additional duties in her role). In June, Webster introduced her at County Council's Public Safety Committee meeting as an investigator in the county's new Behavioral Services Department. The idea was that Manemeit and director Michelle Smith would help police coordinate with the area's mental health programs. "I will guarantee you right now this is going to look even 10 times better in a year from now," Webster said during the meeting. "These two ladies are incredible, and they challenge me every single day. And when they get together, just watch out." Although she was excited about her new position, Manemeit said within weeks Webster's comments and texts made her increasingly uncomfortable. In a text from July, he asked her if he was desirable, according to the HR statement. Several weeks ago, they were working during the fall bike rally when she drove him back to the office. "When we were there in the car he kissed me and said 'I love you,'" her statement to the county HR department said. "I left work early that night because I wanted to get away from him and didn't want to be around him. I can't even work. I feel like I can't do my job without being pulled away for something that he needs or he just needs to hear my voice." In the days before she went to HR, Manemeit told Webster he was making her uneasy, according to the statement. He responded that he understood, apologized if he had offended her and noted that he would do his part to address her work concerns. But subsequent texts also indicate he wanted to remain close. "Just please don't pull away on the personal side if that is okay," he's quoted as saying. Webster acknowledged saying he loved her but also noted that after almost dying he wanted to make sure people knew he loved them, according to her statement. Webster told The Post and Courier he doesn't know why Manemeit ever felt uncomfortable. "We were friends. I've known her for a long time, and she's been a friend of the family,” he said. “This whole thing is just bizarre to me. And this thing (about the officers' resignations) that came out afterwards blew my mind." Another employee raised concerns about Webster Manemeit was not the only county staffer who has said they raised concerns about Webster's behavior. Moskov, the former police spokeswoman, told The Post and Courier she approached county leadership because she was worried about the optics of Webster keeping a group of younger women so close to him. She also said she brought up Webster's interactions with women, including back rubs, long car rides and taking individuals to meetings that seemed unnecessary. "They were always kind of cast aside or ignored," she said of her concerns. "I brought it up on multiple occasions. Again, I thought it was bad optics, bad branding, it could lead to bad perception. So that was always how I brought it up. And nothing was really done or there was no response that I received. I even brought it up with Randy at various points and that was brushed off as 'I'm far enough along in my career. I don't care.'" Both Moskov and Manemeit have retained an attorney and said they plan to pursue legal action. Moskov believes she was forced out in response for voicing concerns about Webster. Webster said he was unaware of Moskov's complaints. "Wow," he said when asked about them. "I don't know what that's all about." A Nov. 12 news release from the Axelrod & Associates Law Firm said Moskov and Manemeit are being represented by attorney Jonny McCoy in cases against the police department and Webster. The allegations include assault, defamation, wrongful termination, negligent supervision and sexual harassment/discrimination, according to the release. Bell, the county's spokesman, said the HR department has no record of any other complaints against Webster. Losing their jobs and dignity Before filing her HR complaint, Manemeit said she ran through the possible outcomes. Losing her job wasn't one she considered. Despite the county's position that the internal investigation of police officers was separate from Webster's departure, Manemeit is not convinced. She also maintains she disclosed a relationship with Lewis to police leadership nearly a week before the internal investigation, and there was no objection to it. Bell, the spokesman, disputes that her relationship was disclosed prior to the investigation. When she got a call about the internal affairs investigation, she said, she was shocked. She was also surprised when investigators questioned her about her sex life. She called the experience mortifying. "It felt like it was a witch hunt of asking people who I have been with," she said. Despite what she considered invasive questions, Manemeit said she answered honestly, fearing that she would be fired if she didn't cooperate or was untruthful. Even after she was forced to resign, she still hoped to get another job in law enforcement. Then came the announcement about the resignations. The worst of it came when people began texting her the internal affairs report with all the details about the alleged sexual relationships. "Horrifying to all of us," she said. Gore and Lewis could not be reached for comment. Kobithen declined to be interviewed. It's unclear whether they have retained counsel. When asked why the county announced the resignations and released the officers' disciplinary reports so quickly, Bell said county had officials had begun receiving questions within an hour of the officers' resignations and wanted to be transparent. "The County sought to clarify that the resignations were an internal issue, and not related to any external investigations," he said. Despite the way the report reads, Manemeit maintains the officers weren't engaged in sex at work or an "Interoffice Freak Off like sex pattern," as one Myrtle Beach blog put it. Some relationships, she said, happened months apart, and she was divorcing her husband. But she said the context didn't seem to matter. With the disclosure, she worries the reputations of those involved will be tarnished and that they will struggle to find work.
