Byron Keith Cannon

Richland County Sheriff's Dept. — Columbia, SC

Accident

End of Watch May 4, 2005

Age 26

Tour of Duty 2 yrs 6 mo

The Vigil Panel 153 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 6

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Byron Cannon was killed in an automobile crash on I-20 at approximately 4:15 pm.

He and another deputy were both following a dump truck whose driver was suspected of being involved in an earlier assault. As they approached US 378, Deputy Cannon's patrol car, for unknown reasons, crossed the interstate's median, struck an SUV head-on, and was struck by a passenger car. The patrol car burst into flames after the second collision.

Deputy Cannon had served with the Richland County Sheriff's Department for 18 months and had previously served with the South Carolina Department of Probation and Parole for one year.

Survivors

He is survived by his fiance, brother, and his mother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-SC-06175634
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Cannon gave the Richland County Sheriff's Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Columbia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Cannon.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Richland County Sheriff's Dept.

Location Columbia, SC

Platform Identity rcso.richland.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 4, 2005

Tour of Duty 2 yrs 6 mo

Age 26

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Byron Keith Cannon is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In SC, 137 of 438 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.3 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Richland County Sheriff's Dept., 4 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 57.1% of this agency's fallen.

Richland County Sheriff's Dept.

of 7 officers

57.1% Accident

SC — Statewide

137

of 438 officers

31.3% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident