MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Four years after dying in the line of duty, the legacy and life of Myrtle Beach police officer Jacob Hancher still runs deep in the community he served.
On Saturday, 350 runners laced up for annual 5K race and fundraiser that helps pay for a memorial scholarship in Hancher’s name, stepping off from Tidal Creek Brewhouse in Market Common.
“It just makes me so proud to see it grow every year,” Hancher’s mother, Suzanne Williams, said. “This year is going to be the first that the scholarships are going to be issued in his name, which is super thrilling for us.”
Hancher was just 23 and had been on duty for nine months when he became the city’s first officer to die in the line of duty since 2002.
It was Oct. 3, 2020, and Hancher was responding to a domestic disturbance along 14th Avenue in downtown Myrtle Beach, returning fire at the suspect after being struck several times by a 7.62 caliber semiautomatic rifle.
His attacker, 20-year-old John Aycoth, was killed in the gun battle with authorities.