SC lawmakers pause debate for Charleston Police chief

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - During a 23-hour debate over abortion, lawmakers at the State House in Columbia took a moment of silence for Charleston’s police chief.

Luther Reynolds announced in a letter to the Charleston community on Wednesday that he had decided to end cancer treatments and enter hospice care.

“I would like to ask the body to take a moment and lift Chief Reynolds, his family and the men and women of the Charleston Police Department up in silent prayer,” Rep. Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston) said.

House Speaker Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) asked House members to rise and hold a moment of silence for Reynolds.

Reynolds, who was named chief of police in 2018, announced in late 2021 that he had been diagnosed with cancer. After an aggressive treatment that included surgery to amputate a leg and chemotherapy, he returned to the job at the end of February of last year.

In his letter to Charleston, Reynolds said that after speaking with his doctors and “praying for God’s guidance and grace,” he and his wife decided the time had come to enter hospice care.

By sharing the decision publicly, he said, he hoped others facing similar situations can share “some small measure of love and support.”

“Now, as I set out on the final journey that God has planned for me, I’m thankful that I will be able to spend these days in the city I’ve come to love, surrounded by family and friends. It is the last great gift in a life that’s been full of them,” Reynolds wrote.

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