New Charleston, Dorchester County sheriffs to be sworn in Tuesday

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Two Lowcountry counties are ushering in the new year with new sheriffs.

Carl Ritchie (R) will be sworn in as the new Charleston County Sheriff during a 9 a.m. ceremony Tuesday in the Charleston County Council Chambers at the Lonnie Hamilton Public Services Building in North Charleston.

Ritchie garnered 51% of the vote in the Nov. 5 election, defeating Democratic nominee and first-term incumbent Kristin Graziano.

“Guys I’m excited about getting to work and I’m getting to work right away,” he said shortly after declaring victory. “I’m going to meet with the folks I need in the Charleston County government to talk about how we can start righting the ship and get things in place to make a stronger sheriff’s office.”

Ritchie was the longtime chief of the Mount Pleasant Department. He retired from the department in May 2021 and was elected to Mount Pleasant Town Council later that year.

He will now be tasked with leading one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state, overseeing a multi-million-dollar budget and more than 900 employees.

Ritchie pledged during the campaign to bring “strong leadership” to the sheriff’s office, often touting his lengthy law enforcement background in the Charleston area as what made him best suited to lead it.

There are several new initiatives Ritchie said he would bring to the agency from a data-driven staffing approach to a greater focus on school security. He also plans to use a “proactive and community policing” approach to improve services in unincorporated areas of the county.

Ritchie will also take over operations of the Al Cannon Detention Center, which is currently under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for possible civil rights violations.

Asked previously how he would improve conditions at the jail, Ritchie said he would start by bringing in a professional jail administrator to review the agency’s practices.

“You’ve got to meet with the current staff and leadership in place and find out what exactly they need, what are they seeing are some of the issues in the jail that we can make an immediate, positive impact on,” he said during a June 23 forum on News 2.

Ritchie also advocated for bringing a paramedic team on staff to reduce the time emergency medical services (EMS) takes to arrive at the facility.

Tuesday’s ceremony will mark a return to Republican leadership for the agency, which was under GOP control for decades before Graziano was elected in 2020.

Neighboring Dorchester County will make history Tuesday as it swears in sheriff-elect Sam Richardson.

The former DCSO chief deputy will take his oath of office during a noon ceremony at the Dorchester County Courthouse in St. George, becoming the first Black Republican sheriff in South Carolina history.

Richardson, a Republican, cruised to victory over Democrat Charles Frederick in the Nov. 5 election, garnering just over 63% of the vote.

Though he has not officially taken the reins yet, Richardson has already gotten to work reviewing the agency’s organizational structure and working with the county council to hire additional deputies.

“I think that I have had a chance to talk to our council and that we need to make sure – or ensure – that our manning matches what we’re serving in terms of response. So, if we’ve got all these additional communities, we need to make sure that we have the appropriate amount of deputies on the street to make sure people are adequately protected and served,” Richardson told News 2 after winning the election.

He will replace outgoing Sheriff L.C. Knight who opted not to run for reelection after serving as sheriff for 16 years.

Both Ritchie and Richardson’s terms will expire in 2028.