Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
End of Watch: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Officer Craig Cloninger, an Ellerbe native, was part of the Mount Gilead fire and police departments’ response to a home engulfed in flames on Northview Road when he suffered a medical emergency and became unconscious, according to a press release issued Sunday morning.
The release states that emergency medical services personnel on the scene began life-saving measures and took Cloninger to FirstHealth Montgomery Memorial Hospital, but he did not survive.
Cloninger, 38, began his career in 2002 with RCSO and later went to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, where he was a School Resource Officer at East Montgomery High School. He also served on the Biscoe Police Department.