Former South Carolina Coroner Sues Police over Poker Raid, Says SLED Is in the Wrong
Summary
Gary Miller Watts, who served as county coroner for two decades until 2020, is suing the Irmo police department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) after his arrest during an April 2024 raid on a rented office suite described by authorities as an “underground” poker game.
Watts and ten others, including his son Adam, were detained and officers seized more than $15,000 in cash. Prosecutors later dismissed charges. In his civil complaint Watts argues the police and SLED misread state law: South Carolina’s anti-poker statute lists specific banned locations (taverns, inns, liquor stores, barns, kitchens, stables, outhouses, streets, highways, open woods and racetracks), and playing poker in a private rented office is not inherently illegal.
The lawsuit lampoons the raid’s militarised execution — officers in tactical gear and armed with assault rifles — and paints the gathering as a social group of local professionals with modest pots. Watts says he suffered embarrassment, legal costs and lost work and is seeking unspecified damages.
Key Points
- Watts was arrested in April 2024 during a police raid on a rented office in Irmo; prosecutors later dropped the charges.
- Police seized over $15,000, alleging the organisers took a rake and ran an illegal gambling operation.
- The lawsuit contends South Carolina law only bans poker in specifically listed locations, so private games in an office are not prohibited.
- The filing criticises the heavy-handed, tactical nature of the raid and frames the event as a harmless social gathering of professionals.
- Watts claims reputational harm, legal expenses and lost earnings and seeks unspecified damages.
Context and Relevance
This case highlights tensions between old-style gambling statutes and modern interpretations of where and how social gambling occurs. It tests enforcement boundaries for state law enforcement agencies like SLED and could influence how police handle private gambling gatherings going forward. For anyone interested in civil liberties, policing tactics or gambling regulation, the suit is a useful bellwether.
Why should I read this?
Because it's one of those eyebrow-raising stories where legal wording, over-the-top police tactics and everyday social life collide. If you care about whether the law still matches reality (or whether raids should look like military operations), this is a short, sharp read that saves you digging through statutes and headlines yourself.
Author style
Punchy: the reporting cuts straight to the legal claim and the drama of the raid. Worth reading if you follow legal disputes over policing or gambling rules — this could set a precedent or at least spark sharper scrutiny of enforcement methods.