Richard R. Gregory has served as the Assistant Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) since July 2, 2020. He was born in Camden, South Carolina and raised in Kershaw County. Richard was a Law Enforcement Explorer with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department and attributes part of his success to the foundation built and mentorship from that program.

In 1994, Richard enrolled at the University of South Carolina and in January 1995, he accepted a job as a “phone boy” with SLED. After graduating from the University of South Carolina in December 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, Richard became a Special Agent with SLED. In July 1998, Richard graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and was the recipient of the JP Strom Award, the highest academic honor. 

Richard is a graduate of the 279th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, as well as the South Carolina Executive Institute. 

After working in SLED’s Alcohol Enforcement Unit, Richard transferred to SLED’s Narcotics Unit in 2001 and was assigned to the South Carolina State Grand Jury. While working in the Narcotics Unit, Richard was a case agent and a co-case agent on many investigations involving multi-county narcotics trafficking organizations. 

In 2003, Richard was assigned to SLED’s Protective Services and Emergency Management Unit to assist with the increased counterterrorism responsibilities given to SLED for homeland security. In 2004, Richard was reassigned to the State Grand Jury to investigate white-collar crime and public corruption cases. 

In March 2006, Richard joined the FBI’s newly created Public Corruption Task Force and served as a Task Force Officer. During that time, he was the co-case agent on a Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conviction of a public official in the District of South Carolina. In May 2012, he was promoted to Lieutenant in the Narcotics Unit, and in 2016 he was promoted to Captain of Narcotics, Alcohol, and Vice Services. Richard was promoted to Major of Investigative Services in July 2018, where he served until becoming Assistant Chief.

Richard is the recipient of the 2011 Strom Thurmond Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement.