Veteran Cop Fired After Telling Gunmen to ‘Act Like Victims’ Following Fatal Shooting
A former Horry County Police Department (HCPD) officer who is currently under criminal investigation and was recently terminated had a documented history of policy violations, including one incident that led to a demotion, according to personnel records.
Paul Damon Vescovi, a 20-year veteran of the department, was dismissed on April 30 following the emergence of body camera footage related to a 2023 fatal shooting incident in Loris. The footage appears to show Vescovi advising the alleged shooters on how to present themselves to authorities.
In the video, recorded during a response to an apparent road rage incident on Camp Swamp Road, Vescovi is seen writing “Act Like a Victim Camera” in his notebook and displaying the message to North Myrtle Beach businessman Weldon Boyd and his associate Kenneth “Bradley” Williams.
Boyd and Williams had just fatally shot Scott Spivey. While law enforcement ultimately ruled the shooting as self-defense and filed no charges, the case has drawn national attention after Spivey’s family released evidence raising concerns about the investigation and allegations of police misconduct. A former HCPD deputy chief was also forced out in connection to the case.
Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt did not reference the body camera footage directly when announcing Vescovi’s termination. However, the chief cited multiple policy violations, including “conduct unbecoming of an officer” and behavior that “causes embarrassment to the county.”
Attempts to reach Vescovi for comment have been unsuccessful.
Personnel documents obtained by The Sun News through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Vescovi’s termination report lists the policies he violated but omits a detailed account of his misconduct, despite an internal form prompting supervisors to include such descriptions.
Previous Disciplinary Actions
Vescovi’s file includes multiple disciplinary records, including three separate incidents in 2019.
Two reports, both stemming from March 26, 2019, appear to be related to the same incident. In one, Vescovi received a written reprimand for violating prisoner transport policy after initiating a vehicle pursuit while transporting a prisoner and fellow officers. Body camera footage reportedly captured him running at least three red lights during the chase.
The second report, more serious in nature, resulted in a three-day unpaid suspension and a demotion from detective to patrol officer. That report concluded that Vescovi violated the “conduct unbecoming of an officer” policy after brandishing his weapon inside a vehicle containing a prisoner and other officers while making inappropriate jokes about the firearm and its use.
A third report, dated April 25, 2019, found that Vescovi violated the department’s firearms policy by leaving his service weapon unsecured in the cargo pocket of the driver’s side door of an unmarked, county-issued vehicle.
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The report noted that such storage “would not be deemed secure by any reasonable person.” Vescovi was suspended with pay for that violation, though the duration of the suspension was not specified.
The investigation into Vescovi’s most recent actions remains ongoing.
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