On September 19, 1977, Deputy Sheriff Stephen Anthony Breland, 26, of the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a backup call on Lewis Street in Walterboro, South Carolina. Deputies were serving a warrant for a man reported to be brandishing a firearm. When one deputy attempted to open a screen door, he was shot in the chest.

Deputy Breland arrived and tried to climb through a window to help; he was struck by gunfire and later died at a local hospital. Breland had served two years with the department and was survived by his wife, daughter, parents, a brother, and a sister. The shooter, Joseph Clemmie Moultrie, was taken into custody, convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, and sentenced to prison; the conviction was upheld on appeal and Moultrie later died in custody.

Is there anyone who remembers the Lewis Street scene that day or who can add details about Deputy Breland’s service?