Leon Lott

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Leon Lott (born October 3, 1953) is a long‑time South Carolina law enforcement leader. A Democrat, he has served as the sheriff of Richland County since 1997 and, since December 2018, as the commander of the South Carolina State Guard.

Lott was born in Aiken, South Carolina, and finished high school there in 1971. As a teen, he was briefly arrested for throwing eggs at vehicles on Interstate 20 and for briefly interfering with a sheriff’s deputy, but he was not charged. He earned an associate degree in police administration from the University of South Carolina Aiken, a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of South Carolina, and master’s degrees in criminal justice and emergency management (from Lander University).

His career began in 1975 as a patrol officer for Richland County. He later became a narcotics agent, lieutenant, captain, and watch commander. In 1993 he was named police chief of St. Matthews, a small town in Calhoun County. He won the election for Richland County sheriff in 1996 and took office in January 1997, overseeing about 1,000 employees in a county with roughly 416,000 residents as of the 2020 census.

Key moments include helping establish the first Iraqi female police academy in Kurdistan in 2010, and allowing the A&E show Live PD to feature Richland County deputies starting in 2016 (the show ran until 2020). In 2021, he suggested Richland County would eventually return to live television under a different name.

Lott has faced several controversial incidents. In 2016 he fired a deputy who assaulted a Black female student at Spring Valley High School and involved federal authorities in the case. In 2019 he fired and arrested deputy Jamel Bradley after misconduct allegations; later reports noted prior accusations that had been dismissed by the department. In 2021, after a video showing a white Fort Jackson drill sergeant, Jonathan Pentland, assaulting a Black man in Columbia went viral, Lott arrested and charged Pentland; initial comments drew criticism for potential victim-blaming, though the department later clarified its stance.

He was named National Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs’ Association in 2021, the first person from South Carolina to receive the honor. The Post and Courier listed him on its Columbia Power List at #3 in 2023 and #4 in 2025. He is married, with four children and four grandchildren, and identifies as a Christian.