West-Oak Middle School

Derek is a native of Oconee County and lived in Seneca for most of his life, but he now resides in the Oakway Community. Derek graduated from Seneca High School in 1998 and then went to Tri-County Tech before later transferring to Clemson where he majored in Business in December 2002. Upon graduating he applied for a job at the Oconee County Sheriff’s office and was hired in February 2003. Derek then went to the Criminal Justice Academy for 9 weeks and graduated with a Basic Law Certification. Derek was then assigned to the Road division second shift. In August 2004, Derek became a member of the Sheriff’s Office Swat team as a Sniper and attended several sniper schools over the next few years, including the FBI sniper school. Derek later transferred to the Entry Team and received his tactical instructor certification and currently serves as a team leader and tactical instructor. In March of 2007 Derek was promoted to Master Patrol Deputy on the Delta shift and in August of that year he was promoted to Corporal on the Delta Shift. In 2008 he became a member of the Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit. Derek’s first K-9 was a bloodhound and in 2009 he was presented with a new K-9 partner named Gritt, a German Shephard, and the two are still currently working together. In 2012 the pair passed a national tracking certification under the American Police Canine Association. It should be noted that the Level 3 track is the hardest track that the organization offers and the two of them were the first in the state of South Carolina to ever pass and the 14th in the nation to ever pass the certification. In doing so, they were presented the Presidential Award for Excellence at the 2012 National K-9 Conference that was held in Indiana. In September 2010, Derek made a lateral move as the Corporal on the Bravo shift and remained on the Bravo shift until February 2016 when Derek was chosen for the SRO position at West Oak Middle School. Derek and Gritt are both currently assigned to WOMS. Derek holds several advanced certifications in Swat tactics, Less lethal Instructor, Supervision, Advanced DUI detection, Specific Skills Instructor, Basic Detective, SRO, Radar/Lidar. He has also attended and holds several certifications from the Regional Counterdrug and Terrorism Academy Naval Base in Meridian Mississippi. Derek was hired by the West Oak High School to be an assistant baseball Coach to the Varsity and J.V teams as well as also serving as an assistant football Coach at West Oak Middle School.