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Police1 columnist W. Thomas Smith

W. Thomas Smith Jr.

W. Thomas Smith Jr., a special deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina, is a formerly deployed U.S. Marine infantry leader, a war correspondent, and a former SWAT team officer in the nuclear industry. He is a S.C. Military Hall of Fame inductee: Class of 2025.

LATEST ARTICLES
My recollections of the late Israel Brooks, the first Black state trooper in the history of the S.C. Highway Patrol
S.C. National Guardsmen and Richland County deputies train for one of many worst-case scenarios
S.C. sheriff to be presented the prestigious Ferris E. Lucas award in June
Former commander of the South Carolina Highway Patrol passes away at 85
The pilot involves testing first responders on a large scale with little notice
How a children’s book launched a department-wide initiative where deputies will read to students online beginning in September
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says the biometric technology is one of many investigative tools used by his department
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is fielding approximately 120 additional personnel not usually on the street
The move is being undertaken to convey messages of peace, security and reassurance during the current COVID-19 pandemic
Operation Relentless Guardian was conducted by law enforcement officers clandestinely posing as preteen and teenage girls in Internet chat rooms and on gaming apps