COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina community is mourning the loss of a 23-year-old sheriff's deputy who died in the line of duty on Friday night.
A squad car outside the Richland County Sheriff's Department headquarters was covered with flowers Saturday as a memorial for fallen sheriff's deputy Jacob Eric Salrin. Community members stopped by the car and placed bouquets while some prayed, and others just took a second to process the events of Friday night. Jessica Mayo said she has a husband in law enforcement. She stopped by with her two kids to put flowers on the car.
"We have to pay our respects," she said. "You never know. They're like you and I; they just want what's best for the community and best for each other."
According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Richland County Deputy Salrin's patrol car collided with a tractor-trailer truck on Friday night while driving along Bluff Road. Troopers said Salrin's patrol car crashed into the truck as its driver attempted to make a left turn onto Windy Drive. The driver of the truck was hospitalized for his injuries. Salrin died at the scene.
Deputy Salrin started his career with the Richland County Sheriff's Department in 2022. He graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in January of 2023. At graduation, he was awarded the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy's Clifford Moyer Marksmanship Award for earning the highest marks in sharpshooting. According to the sheriff's department, Salrin eagerly began serving as a patrol deputy, where he was assigned to southeast Richland County.
On Saturday afternoon, Salrin was escorted by dozens of law enforcement officers in a procession that traveled through downtown Columbia from the medical examiner to the Dunbar Funeral Home on Devine Street.
At the crash site, people stopped to look at the debris as others paid respects. A small memorial is set up outside the Richland County Sheriff Department headquarters on Two Notch Road.
A woman who said she was Salrin's neighbor stopped to look at the scene and drop off flowers. She said she wished everyone knew how great of a man Salrin was and how much he cared for his family.