Three additional officers implicated in the Horry County Police misconduct investigation
New dash camera footage from the Horry County Police Department that was mislabeled has been uncovered and officers have been disciplined, according to the Horry County Police chief.
No footage has been recovered from the tablet in Weldon Boyd’s truck that was present at the deadly shooting at Camp Swamp Road in 2023, according to HCPD Chief Kris Leonhardt.
Seven new dashcam video were uncovered last week by the internal investigation, Leonhardt said Wednesday.
Videos have not been made available to the media or public, but Leonhardt said the tapes were turned over to SLED. He said disciplinary actions were taken against some of his officers “because of the videos.” It’s unclear if the discipline is from what was captured in the video or the mislabeling.
Leonhardt wouldn’t go as far as saying the case has been mishandled when asked, instead saying that there have been policy violations within the department. The chief said the department continues to do a deeper review of the case and any information, such as the new recovered video, is being sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
When asked why so many officers were willing to mishandle evidence and help the shooters in the case, Leonhardt said, “It’s a personal choice. I don’t know that.”
The handling of the investigation into the death of Scott Spivey, who was killed in a shootout with a North Myrtle Beach restaurant owner nearly two years ago, has been under scrutiny after new evidence was uncovered by Spivey’s sister, Jennifer Foley, through a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family, as well as efforts by a freelance journalist.
The 33-year-old North Carolina man was shot to death on Sept. 9, 2023, by Boyd, owner of Buoys on the Boulevard, and his friend, Kenneth “Bradley” Williams, in what police said was a road rage incident. The shooting happened on Camp Swamp Road off of Highway 9 in the Longs area.
Neither man has been charged, and the case was ruled self-defense after being reviewed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Both men claim that Spivey was waving a gun and pointed it at them while driving on Highway 9.
Wednesday’s press conference comes after Scott Spivey’s sister, Jennifer Foley, gave a passionate speech during the comment period of Tuesday night’s Horry County Council meeting.
Foley asked that council members “demand” Gov. Henry McMaster appoint a special prosecutor aside from the Attorney General’s Office to reopen her brother’s death case.
More than 50 people, along with Foley and her family, attended the meeting to show support for reopening the case.
“I wear black tonight not to just mourn the loss of my brother, but also to mourn the loss of what we had in those that were sworn to protect and serve,”Foley said. “The trust in those that were sworn to protect us has been broken.”
Her request follows a letter signed by nine state legislators and sent to McMaster’s office on Tuesday, also asking for the case to be reopened. The letter states that representatives had been contacted by constituents who “believe the incident was prematurely deemed self-defense.”
“In light of many new allegations and conflicts of interest, we are respectfully seeking your assistance in requesting the case be reopened and all new evidence considered, such as body camera footage, and phone conversations that may not have been reviewed during the initial investigation,” the letter says.
The letter was signed by Representatives Kevin Hardee (R-Hardee), Heather Ammons Crawford (R-Horry), Lucas Atkinson (D-Marion), Case Brittain (R-Horry), Jackie Hayes (D-Dillon), Carla Schuessler (R-Horry), Val Guest (R-Horry), Tim McGinnis (R-Horry) and Carl Anderson (D-Georgetown).
Horry County officials also sent a letter last month to SLED asking for the agency to reopen the shooting death of Scott Spivey and become the lead investigating agency since the appearance of a conflict of interest still exists within the Horry County Police Department.
SLED has not reopened the shooting case, but is investigating former HCPD deputy chief Brandon Strickland and his conduct as it pertains to his involvement in Spivey’s death investigation.
Spivey’s family have long questioned the investigation into his death, citing missed evidence, police misconduct and relationships between Weldon Boyd and police and government officials.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, Spivey pointed out that there is two hours of officer body cam footage missing, video from Boyd’s computer that was mounted on his truck’s dashboard has not been found and several phone calls have been redacted.
Foley said that law enforcement said that “all evidence was clearly and thoroughly investigated to reach the AG’s decision (but) you know it wasn’t or y’all wouldn’t have written a letter to the governor.”
Council Chairman Johnny Gardner, who also sent a letter last month asking for McMaster to assist in reopening the case and conducting an investigation with “an outside agency of your discretion,” said, “We have tried to help. The police have tried to help.”
“I don’t know what the attorney general needs,” council member Danny Hardee said after Foley’s speech. “I don’t know if he needs you to get on your knees and beg him, hug his neck, or whatever, but in my opinion if the attorney general doesn’t give you an answer or some direction, I’d highly advise him not to politic in Horry County.”
Audio tapes, text messages and body cam footage uncovered during a civil suit filed by Scott Spivey’s family against the two shooters show alleged misconduct and inappropriate contact with Boyd and the second shooter.
One of those officers is Strickland, who resigned March 11, 2025, and had a close friendship with Boyd.
Many of the tapes, including conversations with former police officer Brandon Strickland, appear to offer help to Boyd in the days after the 2023 shooting, with the officer telling Boyd at one point that he is working “in the shadows” for him.
The internal investigation also led to the termination of Paul Damon Vescovi, a patrol division sergeant, on April 30, 2025, after body cam footage from the night of the shooting showed Vescovi holding a handwritten note that appears to read, “Act Like A Victim Camera,” to Boyd.
Vescovi was 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,” according to a news release.
HCPD has said that the agency is continuing its internal investigation of the Spivey shooting.
Noting conflict of interests in the department, HCPD Chief Kris Leonhardt announced last month that the department has requested the case be reviewed once again by both SLED and the FBI.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM.
