Carl Ritchie

Council Member Carl Ritchie was elected to Council in November 2021. Click to view the Committees of Council assignments. 

Carl Ritchie served in Public Safety as a First Responder for over 37 years in civilian law enforcement, active-duty Air Force and the Air Force Reserves.

Carl earned his Master of Criminal Justice from Anderson University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Strayer University.

He is a graduate and Riley Fellow from the Riley Institute at Furman’s Diversity Leaders Initiative, the Police Executive Research Forum, Senior Management Institute for Police Executive Strategic Management, The University of South Carolina Institute for Departmental Management and Leadership and the BowMac Educational Services Advanced Leadership and Strategic Planning. 

He served as a Board of Trustee member for the South Carolina Municipal Insurance and Risk Financing Fund and a member of the South Carolina Municipal Insurance and Risk Financing Fund Law Enforcement Advisory Committee.

As Chief of Police, Carl led the Mount Pleasant Police Department to two consecutive Gold Standard Reaccreditations, consistently reduced violent and nonviolent crime through proactive community policing efforts resulting in the Town of Mount Pleasant being recognized as an All-American City and one of the safest cities in the State of South Carolina year after year. 

Carl was responsible for the operational planning of many high-profile events that have received national attention. These events include the opening ceremonies for the Ravenel Bridge, the Blue Angels visit, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Convention, the security of high-profile visitors, leading the Unity March over the Ravenel Bridge with over 10,000 participants in support of the Emanuel Nine victims, and managed a protest of over 2000 activist and community members exercising their first amendment right while ensuring the safety and security of our Town was not compromised.