Officer retires after 21 years

FLORENCE — After 21 years in gray, Capt. Darryl Kelly turned in his uniforms last week and said goodbye to the S.C. Highway Patrol.

It wasn’t an easy decision for the Society Hill native, but he said he feels it’s time for new challenges.

“It was tough,” Kelly said. “You start seeing all the guys and ladies you’ve worked with over the years and then you wonder if you’re making the right decision.

“Working with the Highway Patrol, you become a family. These are not just coworkers. They’re brothers and sisters, so it makes you think twice about stepping out the door.”

Kelly began his career with the patrol in 1989 as a road trooper assigned to Horry County, an eye-opening experience for a self-proclaimed country boy from the rural Pee Dee.

“My father was a truck driver. We cropped tobacco and plowed beans and worked on trucks. That’s what we did,” Kelly said.

“I had only been to the beach twice in my life, and both times it was with the church. So it was a whole new experience for me. I was pretty young and naive in a lot of ways, but it was very exciting and demanding. It was everything I thought it would be and more.”

Growing up, Kelly said he never had any interest in law enforcement. All he’d ever wanted was to join the Army. He did that right out of high school and enjoyed a successful military stint.

Then, in 1988, a chance traffic stop changed his path.

“I actually was stopped by a police officer, and I felt like I wasn’t treated fairly,” Kelly said. “I talked with the Cheraw Police Chief at that time, Harry Drakeford, and Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Maj. James Dixon about my situation, and they talked to me about law enforcement and what an officer is supposed to do. They opened my eyes to a career in law enforcement.”

After extensive talks with Drakeford, Dixon and now retired S.C. Highway Patrol Capt. James Streeter, Kelly applied to the both the S.C. and N.C. Highway Patrol. He received letters of interest from both and decided to enter the academy in his home state.

After graduation and his tenure in Horry County, he was transferred to Florence County, where he worked the southern part of the county for eight years.

“I loved it, loved the area,” Kelly said. “That was a wonderful area and a wonderful experience.”

He was promoted to corporal in 1998 and transferred to Dillon County. He lived and worked there for two years before transferring back to Florence County to serve as sergeant. He rose through the ranks in Florence County until 2007 when he was promoted to captain and director of training for the state.

“Darryl Kelly contributed mightily to the Highway Patrol in some very, very vital ways,” Kelly’s friend and former supervisor, retired S.C. Highway Patrol Lt. Col. Melvin Howard, said. “The Patrol has lost a true leader and a consummate professional. Darryl will leave a lasting legacy. He’s going to be very difficult to replace.”

With his total time in the military and the highway patrol, Kelly retired with 27 years of public service.

“On my best day, my very best day, I was just one member of a greater team,” Kelly said. “There are a lot of things I’m proud of, but what makes me the most proud is seeing guys and ladies I worked with or supervised going back to finish their degrees taking on leadership roles in the patrol. I love seeing that.”

Kelly has master’s degrees in business and public administration and is working on his doctorate. He’s served as an adjunct professor at Coker College, his alma mater, for the past 11 years and hopes to pursue a full-time career in education, whether it be at the college or high school level.

“I love teaching, so that’s what I’m focusing on,” Kelly said. “And I hope to somehow have an opportunity to coach, as well.”

The teaching career will be an easy transition for Kelly, who always has worked with youngsters in his spare time. He plans to continue that work through several mentoring programs including the Pee Dee Basketball Association, founded by Kenneth James.

“We use basketball to teach life skills, academics, manners ... . ” Kelly said. “It’s much more than just basketball.”

No matter what he decides to do in his post-law enforcement years, Kelly will be successful, his friend and fellow law enforcement officer Florence Police Inspector Allen Heidler said.

“He’s just a top-notch guy,” Heidler said. “He has a tremendous amount of character and moral values. He’s one of those guys that you know when he tells you something, it’s the right thing.

“Darryl’s always going to do the right thing. Whether representing the Highway Patrol or the military or any organization, he is always a model representative. I just can’t say enough good things about him. We hate to see him go.”

— Staff writer Traci Bridges can be reached at (843) 317-7325.