Remembering their sacrifice: Tributes honor fallen York County lawmen

Just feet from Dave Lyle Boulevard sits a memorial on Tinsley Way.

Between the constant flow of traffic and the bustle of activity from the nearby shopping centers, it may be easy to miss, but the bench and granite blocks are there.

Senior Officer Mike Peek of the Rock Hill Police Department remembers the horrific event behind “The Deputy Brent McCants Memorial,” and thinks about it every time he drives through the area at Dave Lyle Boulevard and Interstate 77.

McCants, a deputy with the York County Sheriff’s Office, was shot to death at that intersection in September 1992. He had started his law enforcement career with the Rock Hill Police Department, and he roomed with Peek while at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy.

“I actually heard him on the radio that night,” Peek said. “He was doing a traffic stop on Dave Lyle.”

Having not heard McCants’ voice for a while, Peek said he was going to head toward Dave Lyle after finishing a call on Riverview Road. But before he could get there, a civilian got on McCants’ radio and said the officer had been shot.

“Just for that split moment passing the intersection, you think about Brent,” Peek said. “It’s changed completely since back then. It doesn’t matter how many times you go by there, you think about that night and Brent and what happened to him.”

Barely a mile up Dave Lyle Boulevard from the monument, hundreds of people gathered Wednesday at First Baptist Church for a different kind of memorial for McCants and the eight other law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in York County.

The Police Honor and Memorial Service has been an annual event for 21 years. It coincides each year with National Police Week, which began in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy proclaimed the week of May 15 would be dedicated to remembering officers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“It’s a somber ceremony,” said Capt. Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department. “But it’s also a time to reflect and a time to honor those families and tell them we still appreciate the sacrifice they made and that we still love them.”

Peek and Officer John Aiton have made the trip to Washington, D.C., for about 10 years to take part in the National Police Week services, which include a candlelight vigil and memorial service attended by about 20,000 people. At the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial, the name of every American officer killed in the line of duty is etched onto a wall – including the nine officers killed in York County.

“You can tell the ones who are there experiencing it for the first time, and a lot of officers will go because they lost somebody in their department,” Peek said. “You can sense the pain and anguish they’re going through and what they’re dealing with.”

It’s not easy, especially for those witnessing the service for the first time, Peek says, but it helps the healing.

“There’s not gonna be any closure,” he said, “but it’s good they can honor and memorialize their officer.”

A permanent memorial will soon be erected in the lobby of the Rock Hill Police Department to honor the four city officers who lost their lives. Displayed with their photos will be the American flag that has flown outside the Rock Hill Law Center this week.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Remembering their sacrifice: Tributes honor fallen York County lawmen."