RCSD Stories

September 23rd, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Award is the namesake of Sheriff Leon Lott Martial arts practitioner and acclaimed instructor for U.S. and foreign special operations forces Ben “Yeti” Rhodes was awarded the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame’s prestigious “LEON LOTT – FIRST THROUGH THE DOOR” AWARD,” during a private ceremony, Thursday, Sept. 17. Rhodes, a former police officer, SWAT team leader, and veteran of the U.S. Navy’s special warfare boat teams (in support of U

September 14th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Multiple services were held across the Midlands on September 11 Deputies with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) along with fellow law-enforcement officers and first responders from various other agencies gathered to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, remembering and honoring the victims and the families of the victims of those attacks. The services held throughout the day and

August 25th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Courtney and Austin Cable reach out through the Richland County Sheriff’s Department Pictured (L-R) – Austin Cable, Courtney Cable, Ms. Bunnie Harris and Investigator Gabriel Ramos. Midlands-area women’s shelters became the unexpected beneficiaries of eight large bags (and two boxes full) of brand-new and slightly used women’s clothes, a gift from Courtney and Austin Cable to women-in-need facilitated through the Richland County Sheri

August 24th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Captain Bryan Farrington and Captain Tonya Farrington relieve retired Major Mark Craddock Pictured (L-R) Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, Salvation Army Director of Development and Public Relations Anne Wright, Salvation Army Capt. Tonya Farrington, RCSD Deputy Chief Maria Yturria, and Salvation Army Capt. Bryan Farrington. The Salvation Army of the Midlands’ new area-directors – Captains Bryan and Tonya Farrington – stopped by the

August 10th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Leon Lott receives permanent name-recognition within the ongoing development of Centennial Park Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, a South Carolina Military Veterans Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2025), has received yet another honor with a brick bearing his name and law-enforcement title installed directly below the large flagpole at the still-being-developed Centennial Park on Fort Jackson, S.C. The expanding brick courtyard (pict

July 23rd, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. 5K road race moved from July to late September The Richland County Sheriff’s Foundation’s largest fundraiser of the year – always aimed at raising support for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s (RCSD) K-9 corps – has moved from one of the hottest months of the year in “famously hot” Columbia, South Carolina, to September 26, a date far-less stifling. “We have had exceptionally high turnouts for Guardians of the Night, year after

June 1st, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. The July 4 event honors fallen Soldier and RCSD Deputy Ryan Rawl Registration is open for the 14th-annual RYAN RAWL MEMORIAL WORKOUT to be held Saturday, July 4, on the grounds of the S.C. State House in Columbia. Hosted and facilitated by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD), the Independence Day event begins at 8:00 a.m. sharp and as in previous years will feature station-to-station runn

May 15th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Late June-early July fitness event will celebrate America’s 250th birthday The Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) is celebrating America’s 250th birthday with RCSD’s 250-LBS BENCH PRESS CHALLENGE: Either for one-repetition or multiple reps: The six-day event beginning June 28 and ending July 3. At a minimum, the participant must complete one repetition of 250 lbs. on the bench press. Multiple repetitions are encouraged with numb

May 12th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Sheriff Lott: “We will never forget those we’ve lost, nor their loved ones” S.C. Senate President Thomas Alexander and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott prior to a memorial service in front of the law enforcement memorial on S.C. State House grounds, May 6, 2026 Throngs of law enforcement officers (including sheriffs and police chiefs), state legislators, S.C. Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, Attorney General Alan Wilson, and a class o

April 3rd, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Three real incidents show how South Carolina deputies made split-second decisions to save lives — moments the public rarely sees Master Deputy Geoffrey Kendall, Corporal Avery Arrington and Master Deputy Monica Parker of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, whose quick actions in separate incidents helped save lives. In my near-10 years with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) in Columbia, South Carolina, I’ve learned a

March 23rd, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Media Personality Curtis Wilson honored with Order of the Palmetto Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) Deputy Curtis Wilson, an anchor and law-enforcement analyst for On Patrol: LIVE and news anchor for ABC Columbia (WOLO-TV), recently received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest award, during a special ceremony hosted by S.C. Representative Kambrell Garvin. Presented February 19, the award recognized Wilson’s l

March 16th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Award is the namesake of 2021 National Sheriff of the Year Leon Lott Pictured (L-R) Sheriff Bill Waybourn and Sheriff Leon Lott The S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame (SCBBHOF) presented Tarrant County (Texas) Sheriff Bill E. Waybourn with the prestigious LEON LOTT – FIRST THROUGH THE DOOR AWARD during an awards dinner held in Arlington, Texas, Friday evening March 6, 2026. The award, named after Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, is part of

February 27th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Richland County Sheriff’s Department points to mobile-phone forensics as “vital asset” in recent homicide-solving successes Pictured are Sheriff Leon Lott and Maj. Ricky Johnson Recent national reports of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s (RCSD) successes in solving 100-percent of all homicide cases (80 murder cases in fact since 2023) beg the question: How? Broad investigative team effort, including an intelligence and ana

February 16th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Intelligence collection, countering human-trafficking, mine-clearing efforts in Eastern Europe, expansion into Africa, and a South Carolina connection The board of directors of U.S.-based CRIME STOPPERS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS (CSGS) gathered for a quarterly Zoom meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, to discuss ongoing projects on several continents. Chairman John Lamb briefly discussed his forthcoming trip within the month to Washington, D.C

February 12th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Richland County Sheriff’s Department Chaplains play key role within the department and throughout the community Pictured L-R Sheriff Leon Lott, Chief Maria Yturria, and Chaplains Marty Wells and Bryan Walker The Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) has for decades maintained a viable corps of chaplains, officially the RCSD Chaplaincy Program (spiritual caregivers who serve the needs of those within the department): Primarily

February 6th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Three of the 12 were among MidlandsBiz’s sixty most influential military leaders Pictured (L-R) are Lt. Col. James E. Smith Jr., Sheriff (Maj. Gen.) Leon Lott, and Brig. Gen. Marie Goff The Riley Institute at Furman University recognized 12 Fellows in the Institute’s February 2026 “Fellows in the News.” Among those recognized were Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, former State Representative James E. Smith Jr., and Brig. Gen. Darlen

January 12th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. South Carolina Black Belt Hall of Fame presents several awards during ceremonial dinner in the Upstate Guests and inductees of the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame (SCBBHOF), the Palmetto State’s premier martial arts organization, gathered for the Hall of Fame’s annual awards dinner at Carson’s Steak Warehouse and Saloon in Anderson, S.C., Saturday evening, Jan. 10. RECOGNIZING MILITARY SERVICE Among the SCBBHOF inductees receiving award

January 9th, 2026 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Press conference addresses the good and not-so-good in terms of criminal activity over the previous year Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott held a first-of-the-year press conference, January 6, addressing countywide crime trends – the good and the not so good – going into 2026. Lott opened with a question he’s often asked: “Is it really that bad? Is crime totally out of control?” His answer: “No it’s not [out of control]. We just hear

December 19th, 2025 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Inspired by a century-old Texas Rangers’ prayer, W. Thomas Smith Jr. crafted a modern invocation for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, reflecting faith, courage and service in 2025 Recently when Columbia, South Carolina writer W. Thomas Smith Jr. was reading a few books about the history of the famed Texas Rangers, he came across the Texas Rangers’ Prayer, composed in the early 20th century (no specific date recorded) by the

November 24, 2025 By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. Larry Payne’s life’s work is reflected in his three decades of service to Richland County In January 2018, then-Lieutenant Larry Payne was one of three Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) deputies featured in a national POLICE1 article which examined the department’s unique and first-of-its-kind pre-PTSD conditioning programs: A period of pre-post-traumatic stress disorder counseling and training which all of RCSD’s newly hire