York County Sheriff-Elect Plans to Focus on Combating Homelessness, Fentanyl

YORK COUNTY, SC (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — “I want to serve the county. And I want you to know that if things go wrong, I and everyone at the Sheriff's Office are going to stand between you and any type of evil that wants to harm you, your children or your family. And that’s, at the end of the day, all that matters,” said York County Sheriff-elect Tony Breeden.

It's only been two years since Breeden held a badge. He ended his retirement early after winning a York County sheriff's runoff against Michael Belk.

Breeden is set to become the county's third sheriff in 30 years. Bruce Bryant was the first sheriff and Kevin Tolson is the current sheriff. Tolson is Bryant's son-in-law.

“I’ve been running for sheriff for 30 years, but I didn’t know it. And it's just with the community and everyone that knows me and the things that I've done, I haven't tried to recreate myself in 55 days. You know, what you see with me is what you get,” Breeden said.

Violent and property crimes in the county have steadily declined over the past two years. Breeden says while he strives to continue this trend, he wants to focus on fentanyl-related crimes, combat homelessness and ensure sex trafficking numbers remain low in the county.

He also wants to focus on the victims and make sure they feel safe again.

The sheriff-elect also wants to continue the trend of hiring and retaining officers. The county has hired more than 50 new officers in 2022 and 2023.

“It’s a vocation; It's a job. I think if you set high expectations and high professionalism, I think they will want to achieve that,” Breeden said.

Over the past 55 days, Breeden has faced questions about his past. He says he is not affiliated with any political or police organization.

Breeden posted a screenshot of an account appearing to belong to the current sheriff – Kevin Tolson – claiming that Breeden attended the January 6 Capitol riots.

“If you do some math – 2021 and I retired in 2022, then what was the problem? If I had done something wrong – do you think they would have still let me be a police officer and especially work on the streets? So, you know, the one thing about it is that because I'm an officer, I don't give up my First Amendment rights. And I also have enough common sense to know what right and wrong is,” Breeden said.

One voter says she thinks he was the best person for the job.

“I think so. Even though I didn't vote for him, I know he has that and much more,” she said. She did not want to be filmed.

Breeden's swearing-in won't take place until January. He will not run against any Democratic candidate.