Command Staff

Dale McDorman

Interim Chief

Early career

Interim Chief Dale McDorman's prior law enforcement career included being a sheriff's deputy in Stark County, Ohio, and a Beaufort County sheriff's deputy. Interim Chief McDorman was also a security policeman in the U.S. Air Force for eight years. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Columbia College.

Joining the Beaufort PD

Interim Chief McDorman was hired by the Beaufort Police Department in April 1995. He came to the Beaufort Police Department as a patrolman III and was promoted to sergeant/operations supervisor in October 1999 and to lieutenant/operations in April 2005.

McDorman served as the operations lieutenant and as investigations lieutenant prior to being promoted to deputy police chief in March 2010. In July 2020, he was made interim chief of police in the wake of Chief Matthew Clancy's death.

Darrel Gruel

Captain/Operations Commander

Career

Capt. Gruel started with the Beaufort Police Department in 1991 and was awarded the J.P. Strom award as the top academic graduate of his class at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Capt. Gruel started in the Uniform Patrol Division, and from 1994 to 1997 was the school resource officer at Beaufort High School. Captain Gruel was also the first school resource officer at Beaufort Middle School prior to returning to the Patrol Division, where he was later promoted to operations supervisor. Capt. Gruel transferred into the Investigations Division in 2005 and was promoted to lieutenant in charge of the division in 2010. 

As operations commander, Capt. Gruel supervises both patrol and investigations divisions.

Jason Day

Lieutenant/Patrol

Education

Lt. Jason Day moved to Beaufort while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and later moved into a career in law enforcement. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Career

Lt. Day began his career with the Beaufort Police Department in 2009, with prior law enforcement experience starting in 1997 with Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and Port Royal Police Department. Lt. Day started as a patrolman, and later was promoted to a patrol supervisor. In 2013 he was promoted to operations master sergeant, and in 2016 he was promoted to lieutenant. Currently, Lt. Day oversees day-to-day operation with patrol officers.

Charles Squires

Lieutenant/Community Programs

Education

Lt. Squires was born near Albany, N.Y., and grew up in the Adirondack Mountains, regularly visiting his grandparents on Fripp Island, S.C. After graduating from high school, Lt. Squires joined the U.S. Navy; some of his duties included shore patrol, which was when he became interested in law enforcement. After being honorably discharged at the end of his enlistment, Lt. Squires began his pursuit of a criminal justice degree at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. He then transferred to the Columbia (University of South Carolina) campus where he graduated with honors and received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Career

Upon being hired by the Hardeeville Police Department, Lt. Squires attended the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and received the distinguished graduate award. He worked patrol and was promoted to corporal and then investigator during the three years he was in Hardeeville.

In 1999, Lt. Squires was hired by the Beaufort Police Department as a patrolman III and was promoted to patrol sergeant in 2002. As a patrol sergeant he also focused on the department’s crime watch groups and police boat operations. In 2012, Lt. Squires was promoted to the position of lieutenant.

George Erdel

Captain/Emergency Management and Training

Education

Capt. Erdel was born in Virginia and spent his formative years in Jacksonville, Fla.  After graduating from high school, Capt. Erdel joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a military policeman and was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.  While stationed in Hawaii,  Capt. Erdel began studying for his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration at Chaminade University of Honolulu. Capt. Erdel’s duties included patrol, supervision and physical security inspector.  After re-enlisting and being stationed at MCAS Beaufort, Capt. Erdel transferred to Park University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Capt. Erdel is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in the field through Southern New Hampshire University’s distance learning program.

Career

Upon leaving the Marine Corps as a Sergeant (E-5) and being hired by the Beaufort Police Department in late 2003, Capt. Erdel attended the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and received the distinguished graduate award. His experience at the Beaufort Police Department includes six years as a patrol officer and assistant patrol supervisor, and 10 years as an investigator and investigation division supervisor. He has received numerous awards, including the Exchange Club 2011 Officer of the Year, Commendable Service Award, and 2018 runner-up for the Rotary Club of Beaufort’s Jesse L. Altman Jr. Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement.  

Capt. Erdel was promoted to his current role in February of 2019, where he oversees the department’s emergency preparedness efforts, as well as the administration of the department’s training, hiring and internal investigative functions. Capt. Erdel also serves as the department’s public information officer.

Richard Poole
Lieutenant/Professional Standards and Recruiting

Career

Lt. Poole is a native of Beaufort, and a second-generation City of Beaufort police officer. He earned the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy’s Distinguished Graduate Award for his high academics while attending. 

He began his career in law enforcement with the Beaufort Police Department in 2007 as a patrolman II.

During Lt. Poole’s time as a patrolman, he was also a patrol K-9 handler for the department, where he worked with K-9 “Hugo." Lt. Poole later became an assistant patrol supervisor before being promoted to first sergeant and the supervisor of Patrol Team 4. Lt. Poole remained a patrol supervisor until promotion to his current position.