A patrol division sergeant with Horry County Police Department was fired as a result of an ongoing internal affairs investigation related to employee conduct in the deadly Camp Swamp Road shooting in September 2023.
The department said as of Wednesday, April 30, Paul Damon Vescovi is no longer an employee of Horry County. Vescovi worked with HCPD for 23 years.
The deadly road rage shooting on Sept. 9, 2023, killed Scott Spivey of Tabor City, North Carolina. North Myrtle Beach business owner Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Williams were in a vehicle behind Spivey when the shooting happened. Boyd and Williams claim that the shooting was in self defense.
No criminal charges have been filed in the case, though Spivey鈥檚 family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Boyd and Williams. That case is pending.
HCPD Police Chief Kris Leonhardt held a press conference Wednesday, saying Vescovi was on scene of the road rage shooting and was terminated due to policy violations. Leonhardt did not specify which policies Vescovi violated.
鈥淲e will continue to pursue the truth in this incident,鈥 Leonhardt said. 鈥淎ny of those found to be in violation of policy or law will be held accountable. Misconduct will not be tolerated at HCPD, regardless of when it occurred, and we remain committed to upholding the highest standards moving forward.鈥
In March, former HCPD deputy chief Brandon Strickland resigned after working with the department since 2005.
Strickland is under investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division related to his conduct in the investigation.
Leonhardt said the HCPD internal affairs investigation is ongoing, and would not say if other officers were under investigation. He said no additional officers have resigned or were terminated in response to the internal affairs investigation.
"Misconduct at any level will not be tolerated," Leonhardt said. "And that's our stance. We hold a swift and stern stance on it."
Leonhardt had previously asked SLED and the FBI to review the road rage case. Earlier in April, county officials asked SLED to reopen the case and the South Carolina governor to find an outside agency to investigate the case.
About the shooting
The September 2023 shooting happened on Camp Swamp Road near Longs.
The shooting appeared to be 鈥渁n isolated incident,鈥 the coroner's office reported at the time, and was being investigated by Horry County Police Department immediately after.
An Horry County police report states an officer was dispatched about 6:04 p.m. after reports of 鈥渟hots fired with both parties on scene鈥 at the intersection of Camp Swamp Road and Highway 9 in the Longs area.
The driver of a white Dodge truck said a man in a black Chevrolet truck jumped out and started shooting toward his vehicle, a police report states. The driver told police he shot back and thought the man in the black truck was dead, the report states.
The driver of the white truck and a passenger gave their guns to police at the scene.
Police said the driver's door was open on the black truck, and Spivey was hunched over the center console and showed no signs of life. The report states police discovered a black handgun with the slide locked under his hand.
The Horry County Coroner's Office on Tuesday, April 22, confirmed Spivey's body was transported in his vehicle to a covered and secure location at the HCPD impound yard because inclement weather was expected.
"This allowed the Deputy Coroner, the crime scene officers and detectives to carefully and methodically remove all evidence from the vehicle without the threat of weather complicating the process," deputy coroner Tamara Willard said in an email. "The Coroner鈥檚 Office will periodically permit transport of a decedent in a vehicle when it is necessary, though it is rare. The decision to transport a decedent in a vehicle is not taken lightly, this is a collaborative conversation in which all investigating agencies agree, based upon the case at hand.
"Some of the reasons for such a decision include the need to preserve evidence, severe or impending weather issues, the condition of a decedents body, etc," she wrote.
Spivey鈥檚 cause of death was gunshot wounds and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. The coroner's office said no other information will be released unless the case is reopened.
(1) comment
Every case since this officer was employed by HCPD should be now be under review..
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