Phinney pays fine of $200

Former North Charleston police officer Christine Phinney has pleaded guilty to reckless driving in a high-profile traffic stop that derailed her law enforcement career, authorities said Thursday.

Phinney, 41, entered the plea and paid a $200 fine last week in Summerville magistrate's court, officials said. At the same time, prosecutors dismissed a disorderly conduct charge she faced after a Christmas Eve pursuit ended in a confrontational traffic stop.

Phinney led officers on a brief chase through Summerville on Dec. 24 after they spotted her allegedly speeding on Central Avenue in a BMW. She later pulled over and scuffled with a Dorchester County sheriff's deputy on Hawthorne Avenue. Deputies issued written citations to the off-duty officer, but she avoided a trip to jail.

North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt fired Phinney on Jan. 26, concluding that her conduct was unbecoming of a police officer, according to state records.

Robby Robbins, Phinney's lawyer, said he and prosecutors evaluated the evidence and agreed that a guilty plea to reckless driving would be the proper disposition of the case. In addition to the fine, she now has six penalty points on her driver's license, he said.

"Now, she has an opportunity to get on with her life," he said.

Phinney remains unemployed, and Robbins said he doesn't know whether she intends to return to police work. Officials at the state Criminal Justice Academy, which certifies police officers, said they haven't received any requests from law enforcement agencies looking to hire Phinney.

The plea marked a quiet end to a case that sparked outrage in the community over Phinney's conduct during the incident.

On police videotapes of the incident, Phinney can be heard telling Deputy Mike Files that she would give a fellow officer a free pass for speeding and that the deputy would "have a much bigger problem" when her husband arrived. Her husband, Tony Phinney, is a lieutenant in the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office.

On the tape, Files stated he was arresting her for resisting arrest and questioned how much she had to drink. The resisting charge was never filed, and Phinney's blood-alcohol level wasn't tested.

Officials have said that final charges are at an officer's discretion and that deputies might later have decided that a resisting count wasn't warranted. Also, deputies need probable cause to file a charge before conducting a Breathalyzer test, and they said Phinney did not show signs of impairment.

Sheriff's Maj. John Garrison has insisted Tony Phinney's position at the Sheriff's Office had no bearing on how the case was handled. On Thursday, he said the agency took no position on how the case was prosecuted and resolved.

"We didn't oppose it and we didn't support it," he said of Christine Phinney's punishment. "Our position was: whatever the court decides, that will be it."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.