Summerville News has learned Dorchester County Chief Deputy Sam Richardson will announce his campaign for sheriff on Monday in Summerville and confirmed with Richardson himself.
The campaign announcement is expected to take place at Noon in Hutchinson Square.
Richardson, a 31-year veteran law enforcement officer, has been Sheriff LC Knight’s chief deputy for 15 years.
Knight is not seeking reelection after he completes his fourth term as sheriff at the end of 2024.
Richardson is seeking the Republican nomination for Sheriff - after having been active in the Dorchester County Republican Party for years at the county level and within his precinct.
“We have made great strides as a department under Sheriff Knight’s leadership. He’s restored trust to a department that desperately needed it. We can build upon these successes and enact additional reforms to make Dorchester County a safer place to live. We have real public safety challenges in front of us today that we need to tackle to keep our neighborhoods safe,” Richardson said in an exclusive statement to Summerville News.
“Opioids are wrecking lives; we have a rising unhoused population that needs attention public safety and health attention; and property crime and car break-ins need to do more to be deterred. We simply need to modernize our law enforcement agency to confront these and other public safety challenges we face,” added Richardson.
Richardson outlined his blueprint to keep Dorchester County safe:
Enhanced neighborhood patrols to deter property crime
Reform Sheriff’s office structure to put more deputies on the streets
Modernize investigative techniques and use technology to deploy assets and solve crime
Work with the solicitor’s office closely to keep repeat violent offenders off the street and behind bars
Richardson has risen through the ranks of the Sheriff’s department and also has served as the First Circuit Solicitor’s Office’s Chief Investigator. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserve.