AP: South Carolina’s first female sheriff elected in Charleston

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)– Voters in Charleston, South Carolina, have chosen the first elected female sheriff in the state’s history. Democrat Kristin Graziano joins an unusual slate of top female leaders in the law enforcement ranks of the county. Graziano has styled herself as a reformer against 32-year Republican incumbent Al Cannon.

The veteran law enforcement officer says she will ask the county council to trim the department’s budget and ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Her win comes amid months of calls by activists for police reform. Graziano cites as a turning point in her campaign the police killing in May of George Floyd in Minneapolis.