Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds, who has been battling cancer for more than a year, announced today that he was ending treatment and entering hospice care.
“Such decisions are never easy, of course — not for our family, and not for all the other families in our community who have to face them every day,” the chief wrote in an open letter to Charlestonians. “It is our hope that by sharing this news publicly, we can also share with these other families some small measure of the love and support we’ve received over the past two years.
“We want them to know that in these difficult moments, they are not alone, and that our larger Charleston family prays for them as well.”
The news hit people hard across the community.
“Luther Reynolds may well be the finest, bravest man I’ve ever known, and I love him like a brother,” Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg told the City Paper this afternoon. “I ask our citizens to join me in keeping him and his beautiful family in our hearts and prayers throughout this difficult time.”
Greg Gomes, new police chief in North Charleston, added, “Chief Reynolds is a great leader, humanitarian and an outstanding law enforcement partner. The chief, his wife Caroline, the rest of his family and the Charleston Police Department are in our thoughts and prayers.”
City spokesman Jack O’Toole said the department’s three deputy police chiefs would lead the department “through this immediate period, as they did so ably during the chief’s earlier absence.”
Reynolds, who has served as chief of the Charleston Police Department (CPD) since April 2018, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in late 2021. In February 2022, he announced his leg had been amputated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to remove the cancer. In the weeks ahead, he underwent extensive rehabilitation but was soon back on the job.
Reynolds joined the Charleston department after serving about 30 years at the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland, a racially diverse, suburban county with more than 1 million people. Reynolds, who has a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and a master’s degree in business from Johns Hopkins University, was assistant chief there before moving to Charleston.
In his letter today, Reynolds thanked residents for allowing him to serve.
“You welcomed me and my family into this remarkable city, and with your support, we have built an even better, even stronger police department. I cannot tell you how proud I am of the men and women of CPD, and how honored I am to have led them.”
Reynolds, recognized as a gentle but firm and empathetic leader, said he was thankful to spend his final days in Charleston, a city he has come to love, surrounded by family and friends.
“It is the last great gift in a life that’s been full of them,” he wrote.
This is a developing story.
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