Richland County Deputy Jake Salrin laid to rest, remembered fondly by fellow law enforcement officers

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — An officer gone too soon.

That’s how law enforcement remembers 23-year-old Richland County deputy Jake Salrin who died last week in a vehicle collision with a tractor trailer while on the job.

“For us, Jake’s work was not done but for the Lord it was,” said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. “God was ready for him to come home to the room he had prepared for him.”

“Our brother was unafraid and a true guardian of the Lower Richland community,” said RCSD chaplain Chris Hutnyak. “Rest easy crimefighter, we have the watch.”

Deputy Jake Salrin’s cousin Chris also spoke at Thursday’s funeral service held at The Meeting Place Church. 

“When asked to share some words about Jake, what immediately came to mind was his love for his family,” said Chris Salrin, Jake’s cousin. “Secondly was his yearning and capacity to serve which began at home and continued with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.”

At Thursday’s service, Sheriff Leon Lott spoke about Deputy Jake Salrin, calling him a man of faith and a dedicated officer.

“From workouts to working at the courthouse to answering calls, he loved every minute of it,” the sheriff said. “He finally had found what he wanted.”

Sheriff Lott says that Salrin was a notetaker who kept a lot of his thoughts in a journal. 

“Wherever you turn around, God is there. That’s in his journal and what this young man lived by,” Lott said. “This may have been written by someone young but very wise to know who was with him at all times.”

Salrin will be remembered fondly by the Richland County deputies who worked alongside him.