FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2002
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety today named L/Cpl. Steve Sluder as the Highway Patrol District Two Trooper of the Year at the annual Employee Recognition Ceremony.

District Two includes Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties. Sluder joined the Highway Patrol in 1990 assigned to Greenwood County, his current duty station.

Sluder is certified in radar, datamaster and defensive weapons. He is a firearms instructor, an armorer and part of the District Two Civil Emergency Response Team (CERT). He is one of several Greenwood County troopers who began the Troopers’ Bears for Bears Program in which troopers receive donations from area businesses each Christmas to purchase teddy bears for sick and needy children in the hospital or local children’s homes.

Sluder distinguished himself in August 2001 while on the third shift. He responded to an assistance call from the Greenwood Sheriff’s Department at a residence. Prior to the call for help, an intoxicated suspect at the residence had threatened deputies with a loaded shotgun. When Sluder arrived, he realized he knew the suspect and was allowed to make contact with the suspect by phone. Sluder persuaded the suspect to let him and other deputies enter the residence. The situation ended without incident or injury to anyone.

"This situation is just one example of what makes L/Cpl. Sluder such an outstanding officer," said Highway Patrol Commander Col. Mike Kelley. "He has earned the respect of the community and fellow troopers by his actions on the job and active community involvement."

The Greeneville, Tennessee, native is a graduate of USC-Spartanburg with a degree in criminal justice.

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