Retired Cayce Police Chief A.G. Dantzler received the Key to the City at the Cayce City Council meeting, Wednesday.

Cayce Mayor Elise Partin presented the Key to the City to Dantzler in a ceremony attended by Sen. Nikki Setzler and Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon. Cayce Mayor Pro-Tem Tim James, in a prepared statement, paid tribute to Dantzler.

James cited several situations in the history of Cayce in which Dantzler performed extraordinarily. Dantzler found the perpetrator of a quadruple homicide and he was at the site of the Brookland-Cayce High School fire in the late 1980s. James, who once served as a Cayce Police officer under Dantzler, said Dantzler walked into dangerous confrontations without fear in order to resolve them. He also placed the first school resource officer at Brookland-Cayce more than 20 years ago.

Dantzler became overwhelmed with emotion as he accepted the key and thanked the city.

Dantzler began working with the Cayce Department of Public Safety in 1959. After his retirement in 1998, Dantzler served as a Cayce volunteer fireman and as a commissioner for the Cayce Historical Museum. The City of Cayce’s Police and Fire Complex bares the name of A.G. Dantzler. He was inducted into SC Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.

Dantzler received only the Second Key to the City presented since the city was incorporated in 1914. His wife, Barbara, of more than 60 years and other family members, were on hand for the ceremony, Wednesday. (Photos by Ashley Hunter and Tim James)