‘Loved to help people’: Chester, SC police officer William Erwin dies, chief says

A Chester police officer described as a person who helped his community any way he could has died, officials said.

William Erwin, a corporal at the Chester Police Department, died Wednesday after a short illness, said Milton Sims, interim chief of the department. Erwin was 37, Sims said.

“William was a hard working officer who loved to help people and the community,” Sims said. “He was proud of his job and we were proud of him.”

Chester is a city of about 5,500 people in Chester County between Rock Hill and Columbia, with a police department that has around 25 officers.

Erwin was a patrol corporal in his second stint at the police department in Chester, Sims said. Erwin started in Chester, then worked for years as a deputy at neighboring Union County Sheriff’s Office before returning to the Chester police earlier this year, Sims said.

In Union County, Erwin was a volunteer with the Lockhart fire department and volunteered with the rescue squad, Sims said.

Erwin was honored by the sheriff’s office in Union in April 2020 as Employee of the Month for his dedication to the public.

Arrangements for the funeral and a service for Erwin concerning his service to the people of Union and Chester counties remains pending, Sims said.