1871
Law enforcement in the village of Rock Hill started with a marshal.
August 1898 (The Rock Hill Herald)
Reuben Dawson entered a home and stole $10 cash.
Officer Rivers boarded a train leaving Rock Hill and saw a man answering to Dawson’s description. Officer Rivers arrested Dawson, who denied that was his name. A set of keys taken from the house and $4 cash was found on Dawson. Dawson was placed in the guardhouse.
January 27, 1904
Rock Hill people did not realize how good a town they lived in until they visited other places similarly situated in this state. There was more life, more business, and more progressiveness to the square inch in Rock Hill than in any other town in the state.
April 8, 1918 (City Council Minutes)
The Chief of Police was instructed to clear Main Street from Saluda Street to Railroad Avenue of all automobiles and vehicles so that the parade could be held.
May 22, 1925
City and County police joined forces in raiding the Red Wing Tea Shop, located on Sumter Avenue, seizing 17 gallons of whiskey according to police reports. The raid was executed by Officers Moss, Assistant Chief Merritt, and Officer J.I. Bailey.
June 6, 1950 (Evening Herald)
City would deed land for range, boys’ camp to police. City Council voted last night to deed to the Rock Hill Police Department 49 acres of city-owned property to be used for a firing range and a camp for underprivileged boys.
The land was the Raggio tract in the Neely’s Creek community bought by the city several years ago for a “topsoil farm.” Practically all the topsoil has now been removed from the land.
Council voted four to one to turn the entire 49 acres over to the Police Pistol Club. Councilman Jerome cast the dissenting ballot. Jerome explained he favored deeding the club enough land for the firing range, but that he felt the city should use the remainder of the property for a land fill garbage disposal site until a permanent location was found.
The firing range and a 12-acre lake already were under construction on the Raggio tract. Eventually cabins would be added, and a campsite erected according to Chief Hanna.
In addition to the Police Club, the firing range and clubhouse would be used by the Rock Hill Gun and Pistol Club, National Guardsmen, and FBI agents. Hanna said, “The modern range will be 300 yards long and 100 yards wide.”
The range would be used to train law enforcement officers “in the firing of firearms and in defensive tactics.” The Rock Hill Gun and Pistol Club also plans to stage competitive shooting matches.
Much of the construction work has been done by city police officers on their off-duty days.
October 2, 1976 (Evening Herald)
A first.
The story in the Evening Herald named Henri Etta Sitgraves “Rock Hill’s first policewoman.” The fact was that she was Rock Hill’s first black policewoman.
July 3, 1965 (Evening Herald)
Rock Hill police officers got their K-9 partners. Sometime around the end of July, Rock Hill residents would notice police officers accompanied by German Shepherds.
Thus began Rock Hill’s K-9 Corps.
1977 (Evening Herald)
“Saved by a Nose” was the headline in the Evening Herald.
Officers Paul Ross and Charles Cabaniss were patrolling near Pendleton Street and Confederate Avenue about 1:30 AM. They were driving down White Street when they smelled a weird smell. They knew it was something burning. They searched down White Street to Annafrel. They turned around and went back to Pendleton. They got out and searched behind buildings, but still could not find anything.
Just before 2 am they saw smoke seeping from the top of an apartment door. The fire department was called, and the two officers began pounding on the door and yelling. Nobody came to the door. Cabaniss broke a bedroom window and climbed in. The house was full of smoke. Ross and Cabaniss searched the house and found Mrs. Ellis in bed.
She woke up screaming. She was hard of hearing, almost deaf. They used sign language to communicate and shined their flashlights on their badges. She was in bad shape because of smoke inhalation. An ambulance was called. Officers Ross and Cabaniss did not see it as a big deal but, Battalion Chief Jerry Micham of the Rock Hill Fire Department told it somewhat differently, “If it had not been for those two officers, she would not be with us today. Those officers deserve all the credit for saving her.”
They were both issued personal commendations from Chief Hunsucker.
Mayor Rhea stated the police department’s SWAT team earned the distinction of being named number one in the nation. This recognition was a result of a recent training and competition program in Gainesville, Georgia. The team was composed of seven members including Captain Danny Love, Lt. Charles Cabaniss, Marvin Brown, Buddy Devinney, Chuck Grant, Les Herring, and Harold Duke.
February 23, 1994 (Evening Herald)
School Resource Officer Program
The Rock Hill Police Department partnered with Rock Hill School District Three to begin its first “School Resource Officer Program.”
The officer was assigned to a four-school beat along SC Hwy. 5. The four schools involved were Northwestern High School, Rawlinson Road Middle School, York Road Elementary School, and the Applied Technology Center.
The schools in this area had a concentration of about 4,000 students and staff.
Special Investigator John Aiton had been assigned and based out of Northwestern High School.
1997
Computers were installed in all patrol cars.
March 24, 2001
The Rock Hill Police Department received national accreditation.
In 2010 and then again in 2013 the Rock Hill Police Department was listed as a “Flagship” department with CALEA.
May 14, 2003 (The Herald)
John Gregory III became the first African American to lead the Rock Hill Police Department.
John Gregory, an assistant police chief in High Point, NC, was named as the first black police chief in Rock Hill’s 151-year history. Gregory would replace Dave Fortson who retired on June 1, 2003.
January 7, 2013
Chris Watts became chief of police.
Watts began his law enforcement career with the Rock Hill Police Department in July 1988. Mayor Doug Echols explained, “This is someone who’s come up through the ranks and who is very much ingrained… a part of the Rock Hill Police Department.”
His first assignment was as a patrol officer, then in the Special Operations Unit. Later, he was assigned to the Narcotics Unit. He was promoted to Special Investigator, Master Police Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain where he was assigned to the Support Services Division, which included the Professional Standards Unit, Community Services Unit, Evidence, Jail, Records, Telecommunications, and the department’s Budget Management. Watts served ten years on the SWAT Team, with the last four being Team Leader. He graduated from the FBI Hazardous Devices School in 1999 and established RHPD’s first Bomb Squad. Chief Watts holds an Associates of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina, Lancaster, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Anderson University.
Watts said he wants to build stronger community relations and improve the public trust.
March 7, 2015
Lt. Kathy Harveston was promoted to captain. She was the first female officer to become lieutenant and now the first female captain. This was the highest rank a female officer had ever held in the Rock Hill Police Department.
Aiton, J. (2021). History of the Rock Hill Police Department
