Will Scott Spivey’s death be reopened? HCPD’s role as county’s top law agency under fire
Alleged misconduct in the Horry County Police Department regarding the shooting death investigation of a North Carolina man has spurred conversations about the separation of the county’s two law enforcement agencies.
Several agencies have been involved in the investigation of the 33-year-old, who was killed nearly two years ago in a roadside shootout between the owner of a North Myrtle Beach restaurant and his friend.
There has been confusion over what department is actually the lead investigating agency, which has become an issue as the Spivey family, as well as Horry County and state leaders, have requested the case be reopened as new information has surfaced showing that HCPD officers allegedly mishandled evidence and assisted the shooters.
Spivey’s sister, Jennifer Foley, asked Horry County Council members to “demand” state Gov. Henry McMaster appoint a special prosecutor aside from the Attorney General’s Office, and nine state legislators sent a letter to the governor’s office also asking for the case to be reopened as it is believed that “the incident was prematurely deemed self-defense.”
The Attorney General’s Office, as well as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, reviewed HCPD’s original investigation of the Sept. 9, 2023, shooting on Camp Swamp Road off of Highway 9 in the Longs area. The AG’s Office determined that the shooting by Weldon Boyd and Kenneth “Bradley” Williams was self-defense. Neither man has been charged.
The Horry County Sheriff’s Office also has been asked to step in and reopen the death investigation. Such a decision could complicate the case further as the Sheriff’s Office and HCPD operate as two independent police agencies – one that answers to the Horry County Council and the other which is an elected position.
But ultimately, it would be the appointed prosecutor who would determine what agency would take over the investigation.
Such a decision probably will not come until SLED finishes its criminal investigation into alleged misconduct of one of the HCPD officers involved in the shooting case. SLED has previously said that it is not reopening the death investigation and that it was never the lead law enforcement agency, adding the state police agency was only providing assistance to HCPD.
A message left for the Attorney General’s Office on Thursday was not returned.
“At this point, we have not been asked to assist in any capacity,” according to Horry County Sheriff’s spokesperson Brennan Cavanagh by email.
Cavanagh said it wouldn’t be appropriate “right now” to say whether Sheriff Phillip Thompson would take on the case if asked.
At least five HCPD officers – including one who resigned and another terminated for their roles in the case – have been accused of misconduct. Three officers recently were disciplined after seven videos of officers’ dash cam footage from the night of the shooting was discovered. The footage was said to be mislabeled.
The involved officers were part of HCPD’s internal investigation of the Spivey case. It comes after 90 audio recordings and hundreds of text messages from Boyd, who owns Buoys on the Boulevard, and officer body cam footage showed that Boyd was allegedly getting preferential treatment because of his relationship with officers on the force.
Should departments be merged?
Horry County is the only county out of 46 in South Carolina to have a separate county police department. It is considered the primary law enforcement agency in the county.
The Horry County Police Commission was formed under the Act 21 of 1959, which allows county councils to determine law enforcement for their county. The state statue was later amended, doing away with the police commission and moving to a county administrator being in charge of the HCPD.
Currently, the HCPD reports to the director of public safety, which is responsible for hiring of the police chief, according to a text from Moskov. The director of public safety reports to the county administrator, who is hired by County Council. The police chief hires his own personnel, Moskov said.
The Sheriff’s Office is operated by Sheriff Phillip Thompson, which is an elected position. The Sheriff’s Office handles the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, court security, civil process and serving criminal warrants and tracking registered sex offenders.
Sheriff’s deputies will step in occasionally to assist in HCPD cases if there is a conflict of interest. Recent examples are accidents involving HCPD officers.
S.C. Rep. William Bailey (R-Horry), who is a former police chief and lives in Little River, has authored a bill that would repeal the 1959 Act, eliminating the HCPD and having the Sheriff’s Office go back to being the primary law enforcement agency in the county.
Bailey said the bill, which would be considered during next year’s legislative session, is not based on the Spivey case, but latest developments in the investigation is something to consider. He said merging the departments would be more efficient and provide additional accountability, which he believes would come from the public through the sheriff.
“I look at resources,” Bailey said, “...it’s just a very complicated system in Horry County.”
The bill follows the letter signed by nine Democrat and Republican representatives from Horry, Dillon and Georgetown counties asking the governor’s office to become involved in reopening Spivey’s case. The letter cited continued conflicts of interest within the Horry County Police Department.
Bailey said conversations about the repeal would have to take place. Bailey said the question is, is it better to “work for a singular sheriff or 12 council members?”
“In the real world, we know that the county council has the final say over that police chief,” Bailey said.
This story was originally published May 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
