A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

to request the department of transportation name the portion of friendship road in dillon county from state road 308 (lester road) to state road 71 (judge road) "jackson ryan winkeler memorial road" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this designation containing these words.

 

Whereas, Jackson Ryan Winkeler knew at an early age that he wanted a career in law enforcement. Born March 30, 1993, in Dillon, South Carolina, he was one of three children of Mark Anthony Winkeler, Sr., and Denise Crew Winkeler; and

 

Whereas, he was a member of Pyerian Baptist Church and was employed as an officer with the Florence Regional Airport Department of Public Safety and was a volunteer firefighter with the Dillon County Fire Department in Latta; and

 

Whereas, those who knew him said all he ever talked about was being in law enforcement. High school, Resource Officer Crystal Moore, responsible for teaching classes on laws and safety, remembers meeting Winkeler when he was 14 years old. Later a police chief, in 2014, she remembers Winkeler coming to her saying he wanted to go into the law enforcement field. The two stayed in touch. When he turned 21, as police chief in the Town of Latta, she hired him; and

 

Whereas, Winkeler was hired as a member of the Florence Regional Airport's security team in August 2019. Chief Robert Norton recalls the young officer being aggressive in his pursuit of a law enforcement career. Recalls Norton, "Winkeler never met a stranger, making friends daily with airport passengers. He would push people in wheelchairs, and talk to them at the ticket counter and I'd go say, 'Jackson, these people are going to miss their flights if you don't let them go'"; and

 

Whereas, on January 5, 2020, Winkeler was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop near the airport's terminal shortly before 6 a.m. The suspect opened fire on Officer Winkeler, with more than thirty shots exchanged during the ensuing shootout. The suspect then stole Winkeler's service weapon and fled the scene. He later was arrested by the members of the Florence County Sheriff's Office. Winkeler was laid to rest in Pyerian Baptist Church cemetery beside his older brother, Mark, who tragically was killed in a 2001 car accident; and

 

Whereas, it is only fitting and proper that the South Carolina General Assembly honor Officer Jackson Ryan Winkeler, Jr., for his bravery and ultimate sacrifice by naming a portion of highway in Dillon County in his memory. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

 

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department of Transportation name the portion of Friendship Road in Dillon County from State Road 308 (Lester Road) to State Road 71 (Judge Road) "Jackson Ryan Winkeler Memorial Road" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this designation containing these words.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

----XX---