Horry police misconduct investigation could add to agency’s dubious history
The Horry County Police Department could be on the precipice of another high-profile police misconduct case about a decade after a major scandal led to numerous officer indictments and leadership upheaval.
The latest case centers on former HCPD Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland, who resigned last month amid an internal investigation over alleged policy violations and is currently under criminal investigation. Recordings recently shared with The Sun News reveal Strickland promising a friend under investigation for a 2023 fatal shooting that he would work “in the shadows” to help him.
Strickland, via his attorney, has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that he was just trying to be a good friend to Weldon Boyd, one of the suspects in the shooting. Authorities declined to charge Boyd, owner of Buoys on the Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, with an investigation finding that he was acting in self-defense.
But family of Scott Spivey, the man killed in the shooting, argue Boyd’s close relationship with Strickland may have impacted that investigation, and SLED is investigating that possibility.
The situation casts a pall over the recent promotion of new Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt, who said he requested SLED and the FBI to review the case as questions swirled around this potential misconduct.
Leonhardt’s predecessor, Joseph Hill, was still leading the department during the fatal shooting investigation before retiring last October. Hill took the head job in 2016 amid a tumultuous time for the department.
Days before Hill was sworn in as chief, a grand jury indicted four former HCPD officers on charges including misconduct in office and sexual harassment, The Sun News previously reported.
“I’m not going to tolerate the stuff that was tolerated in the past, it ain’t going to happen,” Hill said in 2016. “If you don’t want to wear this badge and wear it honorably, you can find a job somewhere down at the Circle K, because we’re just not having it.”
What happened in previous Horry police misconduct cases?
Two of the indicted former officers, Darryl Williams and Todd Cox, would go on to plead guilty to misdemeanor misconduct charges for failing to investigate dozens of cases, including sexual assault and child abuse cases, The Sun News previously reported. Each received just a $300 fine.
Former HCPD officer Luke Green, who was accused of an inappropriate relationship with a confidential informant and sexual contact with a suspect, completed a pretrial intervention program to expunge his record, according to previous Sun News reporting.
Former Detective Allen Large, whose case received the most public attention, died in 2018 while awaiting trial on criminal sexual conduct charges.
Large was accused of sexually assaulting women after being assigned to investigate their sexual assault cases. The county was later forced to pay Large’s victims millions of dollars to resolve civil lawsuits.
Internal affairs investigations ignored?
Matthew Darrah, the department’s internal affairs officer who discovered the alleged misconduct, later accused then-Chief Saundra Rhodes of trying to sweep the wrongdoing under the rug, and sued the county for terminating him in retaliation, The Sun News previously reported. Horry County settled with Darrah for an undisclosed sum, court records show.
Despite Hill’s pledge to emphasize “ethical” policing, high turnover and other challenges plagued the department’s internal affairs division, known as the Office of Professional Standards, during the early years of his leadership, WPDE reported.
Former HCPD Deputy Chief Maurice Jones was allowed to resign in 2017 with full benefits amid allegations of misconduct after he allegedly ordered dozens of cases closed without investigation, The Sun News previously reported.
Five HCPD officers were fired or forced to resign in 2021 due to alleged misconduct including lying during an internal investigation, leaking internal information and cheating on a certification test, previous Sun News reporting shows.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
