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Monday 8:30am - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm Friday 8:30am - 5pm

SC Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame, 5400 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC (2026)

06/02/2026

Officer L.C. Williamson
Perry Police Department
End of Watch: June 2, 1974

L.C. Williamson was born in Orangeburg County on April 9, 1939, to Bricey and Bertha Altman Williamson. He grew up on his grandfather’s farm with a sister and four brothers. He married Marilyn Muriel Jeffcoat in December 1969, and together they had two daughters, Donna and Terri.

L.C. farmed and worked as the supervisor of the Cutting Department at the Stone Manufacturing Company in Johnston. He also served as a part-time policeman for the Town of Perry.

On Saturday night, June 1, 1974, L.C. Williamson had attended a street dance in Wagner before reporting to duty at Perry. In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 2, 1974, Perry Police Officer L.C. Williamson and Chief Tommy Williams were on patrol when they spotted a car driven recklessly by 66-year-old March Lightsey. A short chase ensued that ended at Lightsey’s home. Lightsey had been arrested a number of times for traffic and petty crimes and was known to the Perry Officers. When Officer Williamson approached Lightsey’s car, Lightsey opened fire on him with a .22 caliber revolver. Officer Williamson was struck twice, one bullet deflected off a pen in his pocket before entering his chest, and the second bullet went directly into his chest. Seeing Officer Williamson stagger and fall to the ground next to Lightsey’s car, Chief Williams drew his service revolver, approached, and opened fire on Lightsey. Lightsey was struck several times and died, still sitting in the driver’s seat. Officer Williamson was also pronounced “dead” at the scene. Officer Williamson was not armed when he was shot. Two half-pint bottles of liquor were found under the driver’s seat.

Funeral services for Officer L.C. Williamson were conducted at 5:00 PM on Monday, June 3, 1974, at the Ebenezer Methodist Church near North, and he was buried in the church cemetery. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, his mother, four brothers, and a sister.

Officer L.C. Williamson was inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in 1980, never to be forgotten.

06/02/2026

Deputy Lucius M. Player
Newberry Sheriff’s Office
End of Watch: June 2, 1926

Lucius McDuffie Player was born in Williamsburg County in 1873, to Meyers McDuffie Player and Susannah Player. He grew up on the family farm in Sumter County.

In around 1892, Lucius married Lula Virginia Tobias and a son, Henry McDuffie Player was born on October 19, 1894.
The family moved to Newberry in around 1906, where he was employed by Jas. F. Todd. He later owned and operated a grocery store.

Lucius served as a Newberry City Policeman and as a magistrate, before joining the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office in 1920.

Newberry County Sheriff Cannon G. Blease had received information that Junius Hunter who lived near Prosperity, was involved in several automobile thefts across the state and had been seen in the Leesville area. Hunter had previously served time in the federal penitentiary for auto theft.

On Sunday afternoon, May 26, 1926, Deputy Player and Deputy Joseph P. Quattlebaum went to the home of a Mr. Amick near Leesville to search for Hunter. When the deputies discovered Hunter hiding behind a bed in the Amick home, he came out shooting. The first shot fired by Hunter struck Deputy Player in the abdomen. Both Deputy Player and Deputy Quattlebaum returned fire and Hunter fell dead with a .45 caliber bullet wound in the head. Deputy Player was taken to the Leesville Hospital for treatment. A surgeon, Dr. Bunch came from Columbia, but the bullet had punctured Deputy Player’s lungs and injured his spinal column. An operation would have meant certain death, but there was little hope of recovery. Sheriff Blease stayed by his deputy’s side until he died at 11:05 on Wednesday night.

Funeral services for Deputy Lucius M. Player were conducted at the home of Sheriff Blease on Friday, June 4, 1926, and he was buried in Rosemont Cemetery. Law Enforcement Officers from across the state attended the funeral and the gravesite was banked high with numerous floral arrangements. One of the elaborate arrangements was sent from L.M. Wilkins from Florence. It was the theft of Wilkins’ automobile that the warrant for Hunter was based upon. Deputy Player was survived by his invalid wife and is son.

Deputy Lucius M. Player was inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in 1986, never to be forgotten.

06/01/2026

Master Deputy Devin P. Hodges
Anderson County Sheriff’s Office
End of Watch: June 1, 2017

Devin Pressley Hodges was born in Greenwood to Shari Lea Demerest Gambrell and Ronnie L. Hodges. He graduated from Westside High School in 2006 and joined the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office as a dispatcher. Devin graduated from the SC Criminal Justice Academy on December 10, 2010. During his law enforcement career, Devin worked with the Lander University Department of Public Safety, the Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office, the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, and the Calhoun Falls Police Department.

Devin married Krystal Leanne Kimbrell in December 2012, and together they had two sons, Jeffrey William, and James Michael, and two daughters, Katie Leanne and Dianna Paige. Another daughter, Isabella Faith died as an infant.

In January 2017, he returned to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office as a Uniformed Patrol Deputy assigned to Bravo Shift.

Deputy Hodges also served on the Marine Patrol and on the morning of June 1, 2017, he was participating in a marine operations training exercise on Lake Hartwell, conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers. During the training, while demonstrating an emergency stop, the instructor and occupants were ejected from the boat. When the driverless boat circled back, Deputy Hodges’ life jacket and shirt became tangled in the propeller. This stalled the engine, but trapped Deputy Hodges underwater where he drowned. He was 30 years old.

Funeral services for Deputy Devin P. Hodges were conducted on June 6, 2017, at the Anderson Civic Center and he was buried in the Oakbrook Memorial Park in Greenwood. He was survived by his wife, his four children, his mother and father, and his brother and his sister.

Master Deputy Devin P. Hodges was inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame on May 2, 2018, never to be forgotten.

06/01/2026

Patrolman John D. Cunningham
South Carolina Highway Patrol
End of Watch: June 1, 1933

John Davenport Cunningham was born in Laurens County to William C. and Sara Davenport Cunningham on June 28, 1898. He grew up on a 120-acre farm in Mountville with his three brothers and four sisters. J.D. farmed with his father for a number of years. He married Miss Alice Tucker, and they lived in Greenwood. By April 1930, they were living in Clinton where J.D. sold insurance and Alice was a telephone operator. They later had a son, J.D. Cunningham, Jr.

J.D. Cunningham joined the South Carolina Highway Patrol on November 6, 1930, and graduated from the first Highway Patrol Training Class in May 1931, along with 59 other Patrolmen. The Patrolmen were commissioned as State Constables by Governor I.C. Blackwood, and Patrolman Cunningham was assigned to Spartanburg County. He later transferred to Cherokee County.

On one occasion, Patrolman Cunningham stopped US Senator James F. Byrnes for speeding and took the Governor before the Magistrate. The Magistrate asked him, “J.D., do you know who he is?” Patrolman Cunningham replied, “It doesn’t matter. He broke the law.” Senator Byrnes congratulated the Patrolman for being impartial and paid his fine.

In January 1933, he transferred back to Spartanburg.

On June 1, 1933, Patrolman Cunningham was patrolling on his motorcycle near Spartanburg. At around five o’clock in the afternoon, a Madel A Ford turned off of Woodruff Highway onto Airport Road into the path of Patrolman Cunningham’s motorcycle. The motorcycle struck the Ford head-on and Patrolman Cunningham was thrown from his motorcycle across the hood, into the windshield and landed about fifteen feet on the other side of the car. His pistol was found about twenty yards past the Patrolman in a cotton field. Two passing motorists took Patrolman Cunningham to Mary Black Hospital. His injuries included a fractured skull, a broken arm and two broken legs. Although emergency surgery was performed, Patrolman Cunningham died from his injuries about two hours later. He was 34 years old.

Following the coroner’s inquest, no charges were filed against the driver of the Ford.

Funeral services for Patrolman John D. Cunningham were conducted on Thursday, June 3rd at the Liberty Spring Church near Cross Hill and he was buried in the church cemetery. Pallbearers included Highway Patrol Lt. D.F. Wilkes, Patrolmen A.S. Jones, M.P. Fanning, J.T. Senn, W.A. Martin, Roy Jackson, and Claude Clamp. He was survived by his wife, seven-month-old son, his parents, four sisters and three brothers.

Patrolman John D. Cunningham was inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in May 2005, never to be forgotten.

06/01/2026

MOUNTED PATROL MONDAY!

Congratulations to the York County Sheriff's Office Mounted Patrol and SAR Unit!

05/31/2026

Patrolman Ben Wesley Strickland
South Carolina Highway Patrol
End of Watch: May 31, 1974

Ben Wesley Strickland was born on August 5, 1933, in Colleton County to James W. and Hattie Strickland. He grew up near St. George with a sister, Eunice, and two brothers, Wendell and Robert. After graduating from St. George High School, Ben joined the United States Army where he served for two years and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Shortly after being discharged, Ben joined the South Carolina Highway Patrol and graduated from Patrol School in 1958. He was stationed in the Batesburg-Leesville area of Lexington County. He married Miss Bobbie McClure and together they had two sons, Steve and David.

At around 3:00 in the morning on Friday, May 31, 1974, Patrolman Ben Strickland stopped a 1970 Malibu for speeding, at the rest area on I-20. It was occupied by two men, the driver, Joseph Gilliam Fowler, and Tommy Queen Thompson. Ptl. Strickland soon learned that Fowler was driving under suspension and placed him under arrest. He handcuffed Fowler and placed him in the front passenger seat while they waited for the wrecker to tow the Malibu. As Ptl. Strickland sat in the driver’s seat of his patrol car, Thompson sneaked around and shot him at point-blank range with a shotgun. Ptl. Strickland, although mortally wounded, drew his service revolver and emptied it at the two men as they ran back to their car. Ptl. Strickland then radioed his final message, “I’m shot.” When wrecker driver Willie Kaney arrived, he found Patrolman Ben Strickland, dead behind the steering wheel of his patrol car.

Several hundred officers from surrounding jurisdictions raced to the scene to join the manhunt. SLED bloodhounds and aircraft responded to assist. Within minutes, a Cayce officer spotted a car speeding south on Hwy. 215 toward the airport. He gave chase. The driver lost control of the car and slammed into a tree at the entrance to Churchill Heights. The two occupants ran in different directions and disappeared into the woods. The manhunt continued through the night with heavily armed officers, with bloodhounds searched house to house.
At around 9:00 in the morning, Thompson blasted the lock off a door on Blakely Court and entered the residence. He blasted through an interior door and at gunpoint forced 23-year-old USC student, James Allen Anderson to the family’s car to drive him out of the perimeter. As the car approached a roadblock, Thompson jumped into the backseat. When he did, Anderson struck him with an elbow and slammed on the brakes. The diversion was enough to allow Anderson to open the door and jump from the car. Thompson was arrested without resistance.

At around 10:15 in the morning, Fowler was spotted walking down the frontage road of I-26 near the Shadblow subdivision. Still wearing Ptl. Strickland’s handcuffs and wounded in the left arm, Fowler offered no resistance when was arrested by Lexington County Deputy O.T. Watts.

Thompson was charged with murder, kidnapping, and housebreaking. Fowler was charged with murder. Thompson had been paroled in the previous December after serving 11 years for numerous housebreaking and grand larceny charges. Fowler had been released from prison in June of 1973, after serving 2 years for forgery.

Funeral services for PFC Ben Strickland were conducted on the afternoon of Sunday, June 1st at the First Baptist Church of Batesburg and he was buried in Ridge Crest Memorial Park. Over 100 Highway Patrolmen were in attendance and lined the entrance to the cemetery. He was survived by his mother, his wife, his two sons, his sister, and his two brothers.

On Tuesday, September 11, 1974, Tommy Queen Thompson pleaded guilty to the murder of Patrolman Ben Strickland and was sentenced to Life in Prison by Circuit Judge George T. Gregory, Jr.
On Wednesday, September 12, 1974, Joseph Gilliam Fowler was sentenced to 10 years for accessory after the fact of murder, in the death of Patrolman Strickland. Even though Fowler cooperated and his testimony was instrumental in obtaining Thompson’s guilty plea, Judge Gregory sentenced him to the maximum penalty of 10 years.

Patrolman Ben W. Strickland was inducted into the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in 1986, never to be forgotten.

05/29/2026

FLIP FRIDAY!

A South Carolina Highway Patrolman does a flip off of his 1941 Patrol Car.

05/28/2026

Patrolman George G. “Bub” Broome
South Carolina Highway Patrol
End of Watch: May 28, 1941

George Gibbes “Bub” Broome was born in Columbia, on March 13, 1900, to J.P. and “Kitty” Broome. His father served as a Detective with the Columbia Police Department. Bud grew up in Columbia with his sister and two brothers. In 1918, Bub was working as an automobile mechanic at Gibbes Machinery, while living with his parents on Calhoun Street.
Bub married Miss Hapsica “Happie” Shumpert, and they adopted a son, “Marion”.

Bub joined the Highway Department as a License Inspector in 1928 and joined the Highway Patrol as one of the first three Patrolmen on November 13, 1929. Patrolman Broome was originally assigned in Columbia but transferred to the Orangeburg District in 1935. Although he was assigned to Jasper County, the Broome family made their home in North.

On the night of Tuesday, May 27th, 1941, Patrolman Broome was patrolling U.S. Highway 17 near Ridgeland. In the darkness and heavy fog, the patrol car driven by Patrolman Broome struck the rear of a truck that had stopped in the roadway. He was seriously injured and taken to Evelyn Ritter Hospital. On May 28th, at 3:05 in the afternoon, Patrolman Broome died as a result of his injuries. He was 41 years old.

Funeral services for Patrolman George G. “Bub” Broome were conducted at 4:30 on May 30th at Thompson Funeral Home in New Brooklyn and he was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. Pallbearers included Patrolmen F.B. Ponder, Harry Sloan, S.B. Hall, Sgt. A.B. McLeod, Lt. G.V. Felder, and Sgt. J.W. Coleman. He was survived by his wife, their adopted son, his parents, along with his sister and two brothers.

South Carolina Highway Patrolman George Gibbes “Bub” Broome was inducted into the S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in 1986, never to be forgotten.

05/28/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY!

Newberry Police Department - 1889

05/27/2026

WHEEL-GUN WEDNESDAY!

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott carrying his S&W Model 19!

SC Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

06/01/2026

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05/31/2026

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Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm