Allegations dismissed against former Horry County sergeant accused of misconduct

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - The misconduct allegations filed against a former Horry County sergeant have been dismissed.

In 2022, after receiving a citizen complaint, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into Sgt. William McMeins Jr. and another officer.

“After receiving a citizen complaint, we conducted a thorough investigation ... Our investigators reviewed incident reports, hundreds of emails, recorded interviews, and body camera footage,” a statement from HCSO reads. “Ultimately, we concluded that these two officers did not uphold our strict policy of truthfulness.”

Records show McMeins was employed at J. Reuben Long Detention Center from April 2015 through May 2022.

McMeins resigned in May for writing false or misleading statements on warrants before presenting them to a judge, according to South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy reports.

According to the separation paperwork, McMeins typed and presented a search warrant affidavit to a Horry County magistrate judge that contained “several misleading and incorrect statements within the warrant affidavit.” This was confirmed through incident reports, body camera video and statements provided by McMeins.

He filed an appeal with SCCJA in November.

The Sheriff’s Office presented its findings to the SCCJA, which was sent to the Law Enforcement Training Council which voted in favor of McMeins keeping his certification.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Division said the “misconduct information” against McMeins “has been expunged” and allowed him to keep his law enforcement certification.

HCSO released the following statement to WMBF News:

“We stand by our decision that former employee, William McMeins, violated various policies and procedures. We sent the results of our internal investigation to the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office for further review and they determined McMeins’ actions were not criminal in nature, meaning there was no evidence of improper personal benefit gained by the subject. That’s why we decided not to move forward with prosecuting this case.”

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