COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announced that a state transport police officer died after a medical emergency during training.
Officer Mark Reynolds, 43, a native of Florence County, was assigned to Florence, Williamsburg and Georgetown counties.
Reynolds joined the South Carolina State Transport Police in 2022 after serving as a firefighter for over a decade and working as a professional truck driver.
“The death of Officer First Class Reynolds is a profound loss, not only for the state transport police, but the entire Department of Public Safety,” SCDPS Director Robert G. Woods, IV said. “We are all hugging our families a little closer tonight and praying for Mark’s wife, children, friends and loved ones who are left reeling from this sudden loss.”
Reynolds is the first S.C. State Transport Police officer to die in the line of duty since the agency was created in 1993 as a division within the S.C. Department of Public Safety.
“Today is a very sad day for the state transport police. For anyone who knew Mark personally, he was well-liked, respected and extremely dependable,” STP Colonel Dwayne Wilson said. “He was committed to his job and lived a life of service to the state through his years as a firefighter and, most recently, as one of our officers. He will be greatly missed.”
Information on memorial service will be released by Public Safety as soon as it's available.