Sumter Police Veteran, Pastor Charged With Assaulting Student In Cafeteria

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A multi-decade law enforcement veteran from the Midlands region of South Carolina has been criminally charged with assaulting a juvenile while serving as a school resource officer, according to agents with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Gerald Richardson, 57, was charged with third-degree assault and battery last week — and booked into the same detention center where he once worked and spent decades transporting detainees: the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.

According to a single arrest warrant, the incident that may have cost Richardson his career with the Sumter Police Department (SPD) occurred on February 20, 2025, when he allegedly grabbed a juvenile “by the neck and forced him to the floor,” causing the student to strike his head.

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Agents say the veteran officer was attempting to detain the student for using profane language but failed to give “any commands” or inform the student he was being detained — even as the teen sat passively at a cafeteria table, pre the probable cause affidavit.

“Richardson admitted that it was not normal to grab a passive subject in that manner and that it was not justified in this situation,” agents noted in the same affidavit.

The charge marks a dramatic fall from grace for Richardson, a decorated officer who spent nearly 30 years with SPD — the only law enforcement agency he’s ever served. At the time of his arrest, he held the rank of first sergeant and was frequently highlighted by his hometown department.

A native to his jurisdiction, Richardson began his career in public service after leaving the Army National Guard for a position with the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) in 1992. There, he met a Sumter Police captain who encouraged him to apply to the force.

“The rest was history,” Richardson said during an SPD community spotlight last year. “Everything is God’s timing.”

As recently as February 2024, Richardson was working as a school resource officer — describing the job as a calling to mentor students and “get them to see they are somebody,” even as frustrations with today’s youth tested the very patience he often preached.

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“We’re living in a generation that doesn’t have a lot of patience,” Richardson said. “So, patience, patience, patience… Everything is going to come to you that you want if you have patience.”

Outside of law enforcement, Richardson also serves as a minister — most recently as pastor of Gum Spring Missionary Baptist Church, according to SPD.

“I wouldn’t take nothing for my career,” he said. “God has been good to me. He’s kept me.”

On Wednesday, April 3, 2025, Richardson was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond set by County Magistrate Larry Blanding.

His arrest comes less than a year after former SPD officer Darren Lee McCain was charged by state agents for soliciting sex from multiple women, using contact information he obtained while on duty.

According to probable cause affidavits, McCain admitted to offering money in exchange for sex beginning in January 2022 — the same month he was sworn in as a police officer.

Both Richardson and McCain are considered innocent until proven guilty by a jury of their peers. Their cases will be prosecuted by the office of S.C. Third Circuit Solicitor Ernest A. Finney III.

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THE RECEIPT…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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