COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott has died.
The Richland County Coroner's Office released a statement saying that Scott was found unresponsive in his home on Saturday around 9:30 a.m. No foul play is suspected and an autopsy is expected within the next 24 hours.
Scott was picked to lead the city's police department in 2011 after becoming a high-ranking officer in the Richland County Sheriff's Department. But in 2013, he left the agency citing problems with PTSD triggered by the death of one of the deputies under his command back when he worked for the sheriff's department. Prior to his resignation as police chief, Scott had been on an indefinite leave of absence dealing with the same issue.
In May of 2013, Scott returned to the Richland County Sheriff's Department, where he had worked before becoming Columbia's police chief in 2010. Scott left the sheriff's department in July of 2016 due to medical problems, according to officials.
But he had a complicated history after that, having several run-ins with the law himself. He would be arrested three times, the last in 2019. That year, he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance. He admitted in court to previous drug use and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.