‘Act Like A Victim.’ How evidence in deadly shooting may have led to SC officer’s firing
A few words hurriedly scribbled on a yellow notepad is just the latest in the investigation of a deadly shooting that has so far revealed alleged misconduct by two Horry County Police officers and drawn concerns over the agency’s handling of the case.
But how the note – later shown to one of the two shooters the night of the shooting – was discovered adds an unusual twist to the investigation and has been disputed by HCPD.
HCPD Officer Paul Damon Vescovi scrawled “Act Like A Victim Camera” on a piece of paper while on the scene of the shooting of Scott Spivey, a 33-year-year-old Tabor City, North Carolina, man. Spivey died in the shootout with Weldon Boyd, a North Myrtle Beach business owner and his friend, Kenneth “Bradley” Williams, that happened along Camp Swamp Road just off of Highway 9 in the Longs area in September 2023.
Body cam footage from Vescovi at the scene of the shooting shows the officer speaking with Boyd, who was on the phone with his attorney, then Boyd hands the phone to Vescovi.
The note was found by Beth Braden, a true crime podcaster and freelance journalist who works with True Sunlight Podcast.
Braden said she was going through the body cam footage and became curious when she saw the officer begin to write in his notebook, thinking “that’s how I write when I’m trying to tell my husband something while I’m on my phone.”
She slowed the footage down and was able to make out the words as the notebook moved in front of the officer’s body cam. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Braden said.
The information was then sent to Mark Tinsley, the attorney for Scott Spivey’s family, who then contacted the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
“I’d watched it. Other people watched it,” Tinsley said. “It was a one in a thousand find.”
Vescovi, a patrol division sergeant, was terminated Wednesday, identified as having, “conduct unbecoming of an officer, as defined by HCPD General Orders, as well as a violation of general Horry County employee conduct guidelines,” Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt read from a statement during a press conference Wednesday.
Leonhardt declined to confirm whether that note is related to his termination, citing an active SLED investigation.
Horry County Police spokesperson Mikayla Moskov said Thursday it was inaccurate that an outside entity was the source for the information used to terminate Vescovi. Moskov said both HCPD and SLED discovered Vescovi’s misconduct simultaneously.
The shooting of Spivey is part of an ongoing internal affairs investigation by HCPD. SLED is also reviewing the incident for potential criminal activity.
“HCPD will continue to cooperate with SLED as they continue their criminal investigation into potential misconduct related to the Camp Swamp Road shooting incident on Sept. 9, 2023. No criminal charges have been made as of this time,” Leonhardt said.
Moskov said that HCPD is looking for officer misconduct and the case is not a criminal investigation.
Tinsley said that SLED agents went to serve search warrants at Vescovi’s home last week. However, the 23-year police veteran was on vacation and returned back to work on Wednesday. Tinsley said that agents seized Vescovi’s personal and work phone, but were unable to find the notebook.
SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich said Thursday that she was not aware of any warrants, adding that she would have to check with the case agent since it is an active and ongoing investigation.
No charges have been filed against Boyd or Williams. The case was deemed self-defense by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office and a review of the case by SLED. Police have said the shooting was the result of a road rage incident and Spivey pointing and brandishing a gun at drivers, including Boyd.
SLED has said it is investigating Brandon Strickland, a former Horry County Police deputy chief, for potential criminal activity related to his involvement in the case. Strickland resigned from the Horry County Police department on March 11, 2025.
The Spivey family have alleged that Boyd’s connections within Horry County government and his close friendship with Strickland influenced the outcome of the shooting investigation.
Many details about Strickland’s alleged involvement and his relationship with Boyd have stemmed from audio recordings from Boyd’s phone, including from the night of the shooting and days after. The Spivey family received the recordings as part of their 2024 wrongful death lawsuit against the two men.
On April 17, 2025, Horry County officials asked SLED and Gov. Henry McMaster to also reopen the death investigation of Spivey, citing conflicts of interest within the Horry County Police.
So far, SLED has not reopened the death investigation case.
When asked if the Attorney General’s Office listened to the recordings before making its decision, spokesperson Robert Kittle said April 28, 2025, by email, “We made our decision based on the investigative file provided to us, which included relevant audio recordings. Once we declined to prosecute, the case was returned to SLED.”
Kittle would not clarify whether the “relevant “ recordings were listened to.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 1:05 PM.
