Sheriff Lott: “We will never forget those we’ve lost, nor their loved ones”
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
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 of cadets from the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy all gathered in front of the law enforcement memorial on S.C. State House grounds, Wednesday, May 6, to honor law enforcement officers from the Palmetto State who lost their lives in the line-of-duty.
The service, a candlelight vigil with bagpipes skirling and a ramrod straight color detail, was a precursor to NATIONAL POLICE WEEK, May 10-16. It was also a moment of prayer, song, stirring stories of heroic actions, and a reflection of the sacrifices made since 1797 by more than 500 police officers, state troopers and deputy sheriffs in South Carolina. “That’s 500 families,” say officials with the S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Association.
For the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD), that line-of-duty death number is eight since 1930 and includes the families of Jacob Eric Salrin (2023), Jerry Hurd (2018), Darral Keith Lane (2007), Byron Keith Cannon (2005), Donnie Reno Washington (2003), Edward Joseph Alva (1975), John Mark Dial (1974), and Allen F. Bennett (1930).
Deputy Ryan Rawl was killed in the line of duty “as a soldier” in 2012 while serving with the South Carolina Army National Guard in Afghanistan. The Ryan Rawl Memorial Workout is held every July 4th, Independence Day morning, in Rawl’s honor.
“Ryan was still and will forever be one of our own,” said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. “We will never forget him, his family, or any of the families of our deputies who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.”
For Lott, that’s a tangible promise that he has put into action since first assuming the office of sheriff nearly 30 years ago.
“Sheriff Lott never forgets the anniversary of the loss of my late husband Darral,” said Sheila Lane, an administrative assistant at RCSD. “I always receive a card and a letter from the Sheriff with kind, compassionate words letting me know we are not forgotten. I can’t begin to express how much that means to me personally.”
Master Deputy Allie Salrin-Zammuto, who works in RCSD’s office of public information, agrees.
“As law enforcement officers, we honor those who have sacrificed themselves for their fellow officers and our community,” said Salrin, who lost her younger brother Jacob Eric Salrin in the line of duty in 2023. “National Police Week is a time of remembrance and honor. As a profession, we pause to reflect on our mission as peacekeepers. As families, we share our loved ones with the world in hopes their sacrifice is not lost and their spirit lives on.”
National Police Week is also an opportunity to connect with other survivors, she says. In 2025, Salrin traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend a sibling survivor group during National Police Week.
“Everyone shared the circumstances surrounding their loss and one person’s story in particular taught me a valuable lesson,” said Salrin. “I was – and occasionally still am – angry to have lost my little brother with no warning, no chance to be there when he left this world. But the lesson I learned through hearing another’s story is this: when you love someone enough, the grief of losing them will persist through any set of circumstances. There is no right time, never enough time.”
Salrin adds: “There is a difference between trauma and grief. Maybe we’ll be spared some trauma, but when we love, we accept the inevitability of grief. National Police Week, among other things, inspires me to be strong enough to share my story with others because you never know who’s listening. Someone else’s story saved me; maybe, one day, I’ll have the chance to pay it forward.”
Human deputies are not the only deputy losses suffered by RCSD. Since 2011, the department has lost four K-9s in the line of duty, including K-9 Wick, K-9 Kodak, and K-9 Bumi; all killed in action in 2024, the largest number of K-9s lost by a South Carolina agency that year.
K-9 Fargo was lost in 2011. Fargo participated in the first annual Richland County Sheriff’s Foundation-sponsored and RCSD-presented Guardians of the Night 5-K road race in July of that year. Fargo was KIA four months later. Every Guardians of the Night event since then has been organized and “run” in Fargo’s memory.
That’s not all. A beautiful K-9 memorial statue was also unveiled in RCSD’s memorial garden in front of RCSD headquarters during National Police Week last year.
“We don’t forget any of our deputies lost,” said Lott. “Never will.”
– [Pictured] 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.