Residents, local leaders speak out in support of merging office

By Ruben Lowman

In a historic push for structural reform, Horry County is facing a reckoning over its dual law enforcement system, a setup that makes it a singular outlier among South Carolina’s 46 counties.

A coalition of grieving families, former officers and high-ranking officials is demanding that the Horry County Police Department (HCPD) be folded into the Horry County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), arguing at a recent county council meeting that a decades-old “culture of cover-ups” has finally reached a breaking point.

The movement is driven by a series of high-profile scandals that critics say reveal a fundamental lack of accountability in the current appointed-chief model.

Public speakers at recent council meetings described a department that has become “loyal only to itself.”

Residents like John Reuben Long II argued that the system is “broken” because the police chief answers to the county council, a political body, rather than directly to the voters.

Sheriff Phillip Thompson, a 47-year veteran of both agencies, has officially renewed his call for a merger. He argues that an elected sheriff is the only way to ensure the people have a voice in law enforcement leadership.

Thompson maintains that the current dual-agency model creates unnecessary “layers of management” and confusion for citizens.

However, the proposal faces a strategic accountability trap in the county council, with Councilman Dennis DiSabato noting that while an appointed chief can be fired immediately, an elected sheriff stays in office for four years regardless of performance.

DiSabato pointed to 17 South Carolina sheriffs who have been arrested for abuse of power in the last five years as a reason to be wary of consolidating all power into one elected seat.

HCPD Chief Kris Leonhardt remains opposed to the merger, citing the county’s massive landmass and 70-year history as justification for the separate agencies.

The battle is now moving toward a legislative deadline.

State Rep. William Bailey has filed a bill to repeal the 1959 act that created the HCPD, but the bill is currently stalled.

Locally, Chairman Johnny Gardner says the council is studying the logistics, but a referendum on the November 2026 ballot would need approval by mid-August