A member of the Chapel Hill Fire Department is on administrative leave after resisting arrest and being publicly intoxicated in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The Horry County Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year-old Jesse Torchia was booked in its detention center on Saturday, July 31, for charges of resisting arrest and public disorderly conduct. Torchia, who is listed as a resident of Fuquay-Varina, is a captain with Chapel Hill Fire and has worked at the department since 2009.
A video publicly shared on Facebook Saturday night shows a man who appears to be Torchia shouting and swearing at employees of Hoto’s Restaurant and Beach Bar in North Myrtle Beach. In the recording, employees ask the man several times to leave the premises, with the man refusing and challenging them to a fight. Upon arrival of police officers, the video shows the man continuing to shout and argue before turning to enter a gated area. At that point, the recording shows officers moving to arrest the man, the man resisting arrest and the trio wrestling on the ground before he is detained.
The end of the recording shows the man taken back through the restaurant in handcuffs and other patrons cheering his departure.
Torchia posted bail at the Horry County detention center early Sunday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
“After his arrest, [Torchia] was placed on administrative leave without pay,” Ran Northam, a spokesperson for the Town of Chapel Hill and its public safety departments, said to Chapelboro on Wednesday.
Northam said there is no timetable on how long administrative leave traditionally lasts in such cases.
As of Wednesday, Torchia faces two criminal/traffic jury trials in the 15th Judicial Circuit of South Carolina. Each are scheduled for November 15.
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https://www.facebook.com/diceone4life/videos/344409417152337
Just watched the video and it is a shame about those kids. The wife should have removed them from that toxic situation. I wonder what his traffic incident was like…
Thx guys for cancel culture, i just saved lives in ur community. One video that shows the second half gets me cancelled. I will take off my life saving rewards and leave u be. Thx for the same effort.
As a resident of Chapel Hill, I feel like this man is not capable of leadership, yet alone making rational decisions. He should be fired. To behave like that in front of one’s family is atrocious and we, the citizens of Chapel Hill, shouldn’t support such persons.
Agreed!!! He should never set foot in a Chapel Hill fire station again.
Thx guys for cancel culture, i haved saved lives in ur community. One video that shows the second half gets me cancelled. I will take off my life saving rewards and leave u be. Thx for the same effort. I organized blood drives for the hospital during Covid 19 when they didnt have enough blood. 9 mins of my life u r judging me off of. I apologize that i couldnt control my mental decline that was occurring over the last 2 years.
Very well said. The man is a disgrace to his profession and his family.
I feel terrible for this guys kids… and his wife stands there calmly on the phone to make it evident that this in NOT out of the ordinary behavior for this guy too. If you listen he says “they’re gonna work for this” when he starts wrestling officers… less than a minute after he throws out the “I’m a fireman” line to the cop to try to get special treatment for being a first responder, he then makes 3 cops wrestle him in public making an extremely unsafe situation. This guy should not be in a position where he is responsible for anyone else living or dying. I’d imagine divorce papers are being filed too, hahaha
To the wife… Leave his ass!!! You will be so much happier. Hope you read this, hope you and your kids stay safe! Your husband is an idiot . Do better be happier
This is a very bad situation for this guy. From him setting a horrible example to his family and then he tried to make the arrest as difficult as possible which could have led to an injured officer. BTW all those police officers are SC certified Firefighter as well. NMB is a Public Safety department all are cross trained Police/Fire
Should be fired. Poor excuse for a human. Alcohol is no excuse.
Thx u everyone for thinking outside the box, they kicked me out bc i was talking to three black girls. They had a confederate flag hanging outside the hotel on july 4th weekend which was posted on facebook. They just didnt want a yankee and three black girls in their bar.. While i was paying my bill they were trying to remove me, i paid my bill. Then they followed me to the concrete area before the pool. I was staying at that hotel for last 2 days. I was intoxicated at a bar in myrtle beach, no way
Thx u everyone for thinking outside the box, they kicked they kicked me out bc i was talking to three black girls. They had a confederate flag hanging outside the hotel on july 4th weekend. They just didnt want a yankee and three black gils in their bar. They had a confederate flag hanging outside the hotel on july 4th weekend. They just didnt want a yankee and three black girls in their bar. Take my life saving awards away and just judge me.