Horry County Sheriff’s Office corrections officers receive S.C. Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor

An Horry County Sheriff's Office lieutenant and two corrections officers were lauded with awards for their life-saving actions during the historic October flooding.

Lt. Scott Bower, Officer Donnell Hargrove, and Officer James Thompkins were each awarded a South Carolina Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor Thursday night at a banquet in Columbia.

“I’m just happy we were there when we were,” Bower said reflecting back on it all days before being awarded. “I’m glad we were able to save her life and she can continue on,” he said of the woman he helped rescue who is also a mother.

On Oct. 4, the men pulled Amber Lloyd’s bluish-purple body from a drainage ditch on Harris Shortcut Road after she had been under water for more than two minutes and breathed life into her before helping her get to an ambulance.

The men said they simply reacted on instinct. Hargrove and Thompkins were on the way to work at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center together when they heard cries for help and immediately stopped. Bower, who also works at the jail, was passing by after working and noticed the men helping and pulled over and jumped into the flood waters as well.

“While it was happening I wasn’t thinking about putting myself in danger,” Hargrove said. He thinks about what happened from time-to-time when he drives past the area on his way to work, he said.

Each year the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association has a winter conference that includes an award’s banquet and this year 23 people were recognized for heroic efforts from around the state. The awards are given to those who “perform actions above and beyond their normal duties,” according to a press release.

“It feels great, because I’ve never received anything like that,” Hargrove said of getting the honor while en route to the ceremony with his wife and two kids. “It’s an overwhelming feeling.”

The three men were nominated for the awards by Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson as each recipient is first nominated by the sheriff of their county. The Medal of Valor Committee, made up of sheriffs from around the state and chaired by Sheriff Leon Lott, reviews the nominations and selects the winners.

“I’m very, very proud of these guys” Thompson said. “I found them to be very worthy of the Medal of Valor award.”

Bower, Hargrove, and Thompkins are the first from the Horry County Sheriff’s Office to receive the award since Thompson was elected in 2000, officials said.

While the men’s actions are being called heroic, they themselves have downplayed their hero status.

“They didn’t recognize themselves as heroes when they were referred to as heroes. They just said no, I’m just doing my job, and that just speaks to their character,” Thompson said.

Just after saving Lloyd’s life, Hargrove and Thompkins reported to work, changed into dry clothing, and didn’t boast about the rescue, but instead worked as if it were any other day, officials said.

The men all shrugged off heroism talk when they met with Lloyd and her boyfriend Nick Streibig after Lloyd was released from Conway Medical Center a few days after her rescue. She and Streibig went to J. Reuben Long Detention Center to say a tearful thank you on Oct. 7.

“There’s a lady alive today because of the actions of these guys. Now if that’s not the definition of a hero, then I don’t know what is,” Thompson said.

Lloyd and Streibig were taking pictures of the flooding that day when Lloyd fell into swirling water. Streibig went in after her, but the two got sucked into a drain pipe under the road.

Streibig came through the pipe, but Lloyd was stuck underneath. That’s when Hargrove and Thompkins passed by on their way to the night shift at J. Reuben Long Detention Center, where they’ve each worked for more than a year.

The men just jumped into the water to help, and so did Bower, a nearly 7-year employee at the jail and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, who was also off-duty when he noticed the men in the pipe and stopped to help.

The men each played a role in doing CPR when Lloyd washed through the pipe, before rescuing Streibig as well. Signs of life slightly flickered in Lloyd, and Bower drove her to meet an ambulance in his pickup truck because a rescue vehicle couldn’t get to the scene due to vehicles blocking the way.

“It’s truly an honor, and we’re very appreciative that these guys received it. These guys are very deserving of this award. I’m proud of them, and I’m proud of our office and the difference that they make,” Thompson said.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 7:43 AM with the headline "Horry County Sheriff’s Office corrections officers receive S.C. Sheriff’s Association Medal of Valor."