By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner will not run for re-election and will retire when his term ends after 28 years on Jan. 5, 2027.
In a letter sent to Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office personnel on Thursday afternoon, March 12, confirmed to The Island News by two different sources, Tanner expresses his “deepest gratitude” to them for their “commitment to public service, and your unwavering support that has made my tenure as your Sheriff a remarkable and rewarding experience. Serving Beaufort County as the elected Sheriff for 28 years, as of January 5, 2027, has been my honor and privilege.”
“Working alongside such a dedicated, talented group of individuals as the Sheriff’s Office has been the highlight of my 46 years as a law enforcement officer in South Carolina,” Tanner wrote. “The challenges we have conquered, and the accomplishments and victories we have celebrated together have truly been both personally and professionally rewarding and memorable. I will always be grateful to every one of you for your unwavering dedication to serving this Office and the citizens of Beaufort County.
“I want to leave you with a feeling and a sense of pride in this Office and yourself with the knowledge that we should never forget where we came from, and how we overcame sizable obstacles in getting to where we are today! Most importantly, never forget that we provide an extremely important public safety service to the citizens, visitors and residents of Beaufort County who expect, and who we have always delivered, nothing less than our very best!
“In closing, I have chosen January 5, 2027, as my retirement date, and will not be seeking re-election to the Office of Sheriff of Beaufort County. I am confident that this office will continue to thrive, and I am hopeful that you will provide the incoming Sheriff with the same dedication to purpose that you have shown me.”
Why now?
Sheriff P.J. Tanner joined the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office in 1981, just three days after turning 21, and worked with the BCSO until 1994, when he first ran – unsuccessfully – for sheriff.
He ran again in 1998, winning the first of his seven terms in office.
Tanner told The Island News his decision to retire wasn’t a sudden one. He’d been pondering the thought of retirement for the past couple years, looking at things more in depth.
“When I turned 65, I just started looking at things differently,” Tanner said. “When this term is over, I’ll be 67 just after the term ends. If I ran again, I’d be 71 [when that term ended].”
Tanner said he sat down with family, friends, and his senior staff at the Sheriff’s Office. He said he made the decision in January.
“I need to do this. It needs to be on my terms,” Tanner said. “Considering all the other things, … I just said, ‘you know, I’ve been around so many other sheriffs, some who probably stayed too long. I just don’t want to be one of those guys.’
“I’m making a sound decision that benefits the county, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and myself. There’s no independent reason why I did it. I just felt it was time to do it.”
Tanner sent his retirement letter to BCSO employees at 5 p.m., Thursday, knowing it would leak out. But he wanted the people who had worked for and with him to know first. Additionally, he wanted to make the announcement before Monday, when filing for candidates opened for the 2026 S.C. primaries.
Tanner’s legacy
Aside from the four-year period Tanner worked for the state (1994-1998), Bob Bromage worked with him at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office from 1990 to 2022, when he became the Director of Public Safety for the Town of Hilton Head Island.
Bromage, who retired a Major, was an investigator, in charge of cold cases, and for part of the time, the public information officer. He worked closely and was close personally to Tanner.
“He’s been a great leader,” Bromage said.
Bromage said Tanner brought to the table a fair and consistent application ot the law and strong, stable and progressive leadership.
Bromage said Tanner established the BCSO as a “law and order agency” and was never stagnant, always moving the BCSO forward.
“The fact that he was able to stay sheriff for so long was beneficial,” Bromage said. “There wasn’t change every four years.”
In the early 2000s, Tanner was ahead of the game in drug identification and forensic analysis, eventually establishing a forensics lab at the BCSO.
“That was big because we had a backlog,” Bromage said. “When you have to wait, you’re competing with all the other agencies. We became much more efficient when you fast forward to 2010, we were the third agency in the state to start forensic DNA analysis. That was incredible. Far less wait time. We saved months of time. Especially in serious crimes when you’re waiting on DNA analysis to make an arrest.”
Bromage touted Tanner’s attention given to cold cases.
“Starting the cold case division in 1999, that has paid dividends,” Bromage said. “We’ve solved a couple big ones.”
And the BCSO’s improvement in communications is another of Tanner’s achievements – the use of social media and Everbridge (Nixle).
“I have taken every opportunity to do everything I possibly can, that the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has had everything, in terms of science and technology, in order to do the best job possible,” Tanner said.
Someone else who has worked with Tanner for a long time, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, said he’s “sad to see him go.”
Stone said Tanner is responsible for the identity of the BCSO. And he said in his 28 years as Sheriff, Tanner has built “the premiere sheriff’s office in the state of South Carolina.”
What’s next?
Bromage said the next Beaufort County Sheriff will face some challenges.
“We need to maintain the trust of the public,” he said. Those that don’t trust law enforcement or the government, … whether that’s growing or not, I don’t know, … but maintaining that trust is important to a successful sheriff’s office.”
“I think we’re the best sheriff’s office in the state of South Carolina,” Tanner said. “We’ve brought in a lot of technology and science; we’ve retained great people; and we have great relationships with people in the county.”
Tanner said the office is where it is today because of the hard work or a lot of people, and he hopes whoever comes next uses the mechanism that has been built to continue to improve the BCSO.
“If it’s not broken, you’re not looking hard enough,” Tanner said in relation to changes in the BCSO. “We have to be honest with ourselves.”
Tanner said the ideal candidates for the job are those who hold dear the motto of the Rotarian — “Service above self.”
“If you’re intent is to come and run for office because you want the title … those who do that don’t really understand the office of sheriff, they’re just title searching,” he said. “What comes with that is an ego that is detrimental to the office of sheriff.”
Tanner said the keys to the job are passion, commitment, and focus.
“If you’re not coming here to make it better, then you’re here for the wrong reason.”
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.