End of Watch

Charleston County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Matuskovic, 43, was laid to rest on Monday. And 10 days after his tragic shooting there are still more questions than answers.
Gov. Nikki Haley attended Matuskovic’s funeral and presented to his family a flag that had flown at half-staff over the Statehouse in Columbia. Matuskovic’s funeral had been delayed to accommodate state law enforcement investigations.
Following morning services at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, a burial procession carried his casket to Old St. Andrews Church on Ashley River Road.
Matuskovic and another off-duty deputy joined three, on-duty deputies in answering a complaint at The Gardens apartment complex along Carriage Lane last Monday evening.
When the lawmen announced themselves at the door of Michael Oswald, 38, he reportedly opened fire without warning. He’d had brushes with the law, but nothing that could be a precursor to what transpired.
A local tennis pro giving a lesson to two young women nearby heard the shots, which came in two volleys, as did a high school student who lives a street away in a neighborhood.
Pop-pop-pop-pop. Pause. Pop-pop-pop-pop. Law enforcement reported close to 15 rounds being discharged.
It’s not clear which “pop” tore through Matuskovic, leading to his death soon after at a local hospital. Or which one tore through Oswald, ending his life. Or which “pop” injured the leg of the other off-duty deputy.
But by the end of that night, a third man had died, Larry Britton, 58, the county’s radio communication manager and longtime public servant, of a heart problem.
Law enforcement didn’t know initially Oswald’s status, whether he was dead or holed up, reloading. Cordoning off the area, deputies evacuated nearby units, and SWAT teams were dispatched.
Brother deputies from seemingly across the state began to file in. A parking lot at a nearby shuttered Piggly Wiggly was so full of blue-lit cars, it looked like a muted Christmas tree through the soft rain that was falling.
A robot was eventually dispatched to enter the apartment, and found that Oswald had also been shot and had been dead for a while.
Haley’s presence had been hastened by an initial request from state Rep. Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston) to lower the flags on the Statehouse to half-staff.
Local real estate manager Randall Goldman had the idea to present the flag to the family to show the community at large has respect and gratitude for law enforcement.
Haley’s office agreed, taking it one more step, delivering the governor.
And for that, and many other reasons, Monday was a day the Matuskovic family, extended that day throughout the state, will never forget.