Breaking Barriers: Minority Spartanburg Co. deputy promoted after nearly a decade

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) — One Spartanburg County deputy is moving on up, after almost a decade with the sheriff’s office.

Sergeant Sean Biggs graduated from Dorman High School, attended Spartanburg Methodist College and then eventually the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Biggs has been protecting the county as a sheriff’s deputy, an assistant sergeant and now as a sergeant for the sheriff’s office’s traffic enforcement division for eight years.

It’s a role not many other people from his same cultural background are following, according to public data.

“I was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1987, and I was adopted and ended up here in Spartanburg County,” said Biggs.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office employs around 550 civilians and sworn deputies according to the 2023 annual report , but less than a percent identify as Asian American.

“I’ve had an Asian gentleman actually stop at a red light while I was working before and rolling on the window and telling me it was cool to see me driving around because he hasn’t seen many Asian law enforcement officers,” said Biggs.

Biggs was a former Spartanburg County 911 dispatcher for several years before deciding to join the sheriff’s office in 2016.

“After I got married, I started feeling like I wanted to do more. I started feeling like I wanted to do something that mattered to me, and then I started considering law enforcement, just from talking to people,” said Biggs. “In March of 2016, officer Alan Jacobs from Greenville was shot and killed in the line of duty and I attended his funeral.”

That moment was a crucial development into his law enforcement journey.

“During that time, tensions between law enforcement in the country are kind of rising. So I saw a lot of stories on the news and I felt drawn to it,” said Biggs. “I call that God calling me to do something and and that kind of just pulled towards me. And I thought, if I needed to do something that mattered, this is the field that I needed to go into.”

It was a decision that didn’t sit well with his mom, who Biggs said was worried about how he would be treated.

“I kind of was joking about it just to see where it would go, she was very strongly against me doing it,” said Biggs. He explained his mom wanted him to be both happy and safe, but Biggs believed the only way to make his community better was by doing it himself.

“I hated seeing law enforcement officers being killed. I hated to see division in the world and in the country and in society, and if you’re gonna want to fix something, or if you want to contribute in a positive way, I mean you just got to do it,” said Biggs.

Even though just 0.7% of his co-workers were Asian American, Biggs said he wasn’t treated any differently by the team.

“My experience here has been very positive,” said Biggs. “What I’ve noticed over the years is that generally, if people aren’t familiar with your culture or whatever, most people are curious, if they even notice at all around here. I’ve always been very included in pretty much every group here at the sheriff’s office.”

Biggs added that he would like to see more racial diversity at the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and all enforcement agencies across the country, but believes people should go into the field for the right reasons.

“I think if you’re drawn to it [go for it], said Biggs. “I think you should not let your cultural background put you into a box to prevent you from doing something that you feel called to do.”

Biggs was promoted to Sergeant for the Sheriff’s Office’s Traffic Division in June .

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