A Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy caught on video earlier this week pointing a gun at several teenagers and threatening to shoot has been fired, and his name released.
Sheriff P.J. Tanner held a press conference Friday morning announcing the termination of Master Sgt. William “Billy” Squires who’d been with the department for 19 years.
Tanner says Squires, who was off duty at the time, was suspected of being drunk when other deputies responded to a disturbance in Squires’ Hilton Head Island neighborhood the night of Sept. 28th. He says Squires refused to take a sobriety test.
The sheriff is asking that the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy revoke the former deputy’s law enforcement certification.
“Looking at that video, it was appalling,” said Sheriff Tanner.
“I can also see how the average citizen sees the video and just goes into shock.”
The nearly 90 second video shared on social media shows Squires demanding that a group of boys “get on the ground” with his gun drawn. He’s dressed in a sheriff’s office vest, shorts, and slippers.
There’s a scuffle for a bookbag which the deputy takes. The boys shout to bystanders to call police. Squires responds, “I am the police.”
One of the boys is seen being kicked by Squires and dragged to the ground by the sleeve of his shirt, while another boy lunges at the deputy to fight back. The video ends with one boy repeatedly screaming for his mom.
Sheriff Tanner did not say what led Squires to confront the teens. He says the deputy was suspended that night.
SLED is still investigating the incident.
