H 4870  Resolution, By Ballentine, Bales, Bernstein, Brawley, Finlay, Garvin, 
Hart, Howard, McDaniel, Rose, Rutherford, Thigpen, Alexander, Allison, Anderson, 
Atkinson, Bailey, Bamberg, Bannister, Bennett, Blackwell, Bradley, Brown, 
Bryant, Burns, Calhoon, Caskey, Chellis, Chumley, Clary, Clemmons, Clyburn, 
Cobb-Hunter, Cogswell, Collins, B.Cox, W.Cox, Crawford, Daning, Davis, Dillard, 
Elliott, Erickson, Felder, Forrest, Forrester, Fry, Funderburk, Gagnon, Gilliam, 
Gilliard, Govan, Haddon, Hardee, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Henegan, Herbkersman, 
Hewitt, Hill, Hiott, Hixon, Hosey, Huggins, Hyde, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, 
Jordan, Kimmons, King, Kirby, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Lucas, Mace, Mack, Magnuson, 
Martin, Matthews, McCoy, McCravy, McGinnis, McKnight, Moore, Morgan, D.C.Moss, 
V.S.Moss, Murphy, B.Newton, W.Newton, Norrell, Oremus, Ott, Parks, Pendarvis, 
Pope, Ridgeway, Rivers, Robinson, Sandifer, Simrill, G.M.Smith, G.R.Smith, 
Sottile, Spires, Stavrinakis, Stringer, Tallon, Taylor, Thayer, Toole, Trantham, 
Weeks, West, Wheeler, White, Whitmire, R.Williams, S.Williams, Willis, Wooten and 
Yow
 A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR CAPTAIN CHRIS DUKE AND MASTER DEPUTY
 RYAN MACADAMS, SR., OF THE RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FOR
 EXCEPTIONAL COURAGE IN THE FACE OF DANGER WHILE IN THE LINE OF DUTY AND TO
 CONGRATULATE THEM UPON RECEIVING THE SOUTH CAROLINA SHERIFFS' ASSOCIATION 2019
 MEDAL OF VALOR AWARD.
View full text
   01/15/20  House  Introduced and adopted (House Journal-page 25)

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR CAPTAIN CHRIS DUKE AND MASTER DEPUTY RYAN MACADAMS, SR., OF THE RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FOR EXCEPTIONAL COURAGE IN THE FACE OF DANGER WHILE IN THE LINE OF DUTY AND TO CONGRATULATE THEM UPON RECEIVING THE SOUTH CAROLINA SHERIFFS' ASSOCIATION 2019 MEDAL OF VALOR AWARD.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Captain Chris Duke and Master Deputy Ryan MacAdams, Sr., will be awarded the esteemed South Carolina Sheriffs' Association 2019 Medal of Valor Award during the association's Winter Conference Awards Banquet in Columbia on January 23, 2020; and

Whereas, the Medal of Valor Award is presented to a deputy sheriff who performs actions above and beyond the call of duty; exhibits exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness, and presence of mind; or acts with unusual swiftness, regardless of his or her personal safety, in an attempt to save or protect human life; and

Whereas, nominations made by a sheriff are presented to a standing committee of sheriffs who evaluate the nominations, and recipients are invited to the Winter Conference where they are presented with the medal at the Awards Banquet; and

Whereas, on August 15, 2019, Captain Chris Duke and Master Deputy Ryan MacAdams were faced with a life threatening call for service when an armed robbery was in progress at the AllSouth Federal Credit Union in northeast Richland County; and

Whereas, patrol units arrived within a few minutes and received information from a concerned citizen who provided a description and direction of travel of the suspects' vehicle while additional deputies confirmed that three male suspects armed with pistols had entered the bank, aggressively pointing guns at the tellers, and then had fled the scene with an undetermined amount of cash; and

Whereas, within minutes Captain Duke and Master Deputy MacAdams observed the suspects' vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed, and in attempting to stop the vehicle, they began a car chase reaching excess speeds of 120 miles per hour; and

Whereas, though the officers knew the suspects had pistols and were determined to get away, they continued the pursuit out of concern for the safety of Richland County citizens until the suspects' vehicle turned into a dead end street in a residential subdivision; and

Whereas, when the suspect vehicle stopped, all three suspects exited the vehicle and immediately began shooting at Captain Duke and Master Deputy MacAdams, with rounds striking both patrol cars and some barely missing both officers. Captain Duke returned fire, striking one of the suspects twice in the lower body, but the suspects entered another vehicle and fled the scene out of sight; and

Whereas, when other deputies spotted the vehicle, another deputy followed it, and a second chase ensued for over thirty minutes, as the suspects traversed the county at recklessly high speeds. After several near collisions, the other deputy performed the pit maneuver disabling the suspect vehicle and ending the treacherous chase; and

Whereas, refusing to surrender, the suspects ran from the vehicle only to be captured by deputies from multiple divisions and arrested, thus ending the danger posed to the community by these criminals; and

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is honored to recognize the heroism and determination of law enforcement officers and first responders like Captain Duke and Master Deputy MacAdams who protect and defend our citizens, putting the safety of others above their own personal safety. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Captain Chris Duke and Master Deputy Ryan MacAdams, Sr., of the Richland County Sheriff's Department for exceptional courage in the face of danger while in the line of duty and congratulate them upon receiving the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association 2019 Medal of Valor Award.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Captain Chris Duke and to Master Deputy Ryan MacAdams, Sr.