GRANITE — The Granite police chief is accused of setting an alleged drunken driver free because he's friends with the driver's father. The officer who arrested the man is accused of making an unlawful traffic stop.

The issue ended up Thursday in front of the five-member town board of trustees, where it was decided that both men would be reprimanded, Mayor Tony Scarborough said.

Scarborough said he moved to fire Police Chief David Gilchrist and officer Chris Whilhite for the incident, but cooler heads prevailed. The decision to reprimand them came out of a heated meeting that lasted more than three hours, he said.

Town trustees have not determined what the reprimand will entail. Scarborough said they thought it best to decide at their regular meeting July 12 when emotions are not running so high.

The arrest involved a 20-year-old Granite man. Two years ago, the man received a deferred sentence on a drunken driving conviction.

He was brought Monday to the Greer County jail but never booked. Witnesses there said Whilhite and Gilchrist argued outside the office for about 20 minutes; then Whilhite came in and released the man.

The mayor said Whilhite alleges he was forced to let the driver go because Gilchrist knows the man's father.

"Everything I did was legal and by the book,” Whilhite said before Thursday's meeting. "I simply arrested the wrong person.”

Gilchrist declined to comment.

The case has been turned over to the Greer County district attorney's office.

Scarborough said town trustees concluded both the police chief and officer were in the wrong.

He said that even though the arrest may have been warranted, the officer should have stopped the suspect in city limits instead of waiting until he was outside of town.

As for the police chief, Scarborough said, it was determined he acted on emotion, not facts. "They both put the city at risk and blemished the integrity of the Granite Police Department,” he said.