‘Appalling to see’: Beaufort Co. Sheriff comments on off-duty officer incident video

BEAUFORT COUNTY, Sc. (WTOC) - [12:53 p.m. 10/3/2025] The off-duty officer who was captured on video involved in an incident on Sunday, September 28, 2025, has been fired, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff.

His name and (former) rank is Master Sgt. William “Billy” Squires, a 19-year veteran.

He was fired of code of conduct failure, and for a “variety of policy violations,” according to the Beaufort County Sheriff.

That Sunday, the sheriff says deputies responded to shots fired call and discovered Squires was on the scene.

There were community concerns Squires was under the influence, and an on-duty officer too Squires in for a breathalyzer, which was refused.

Squires was suspended around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday and the BCSO has requested his certification to be a police officer be revoked.

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigation is underway.

“Don’t let this incident shed a bad light on the men and women who serve you,” the sheriff asked the community.

The sheriff gave a press conference and Q&A on the incident and the deputy in question earlier today, which WTOC attended. You can watch the full press conference in full below:

[ORIGINAL STORY] The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said they are conducting an internal investigation due to an incident involving an off-duty deputy.

At around 6:47 p.m. Sunday evening, the sheriff’s office responded to calls about a disturbance in a community on Hilton Head.

When the deputies’ got there, they found an off-duty deputy involved in an incident in the neighborhood where he lives.

The deputy was suspended without pay shortly after the incident.

The sheriff’s office said he was relieved of his credentials, badge, sheriff’s office issued weapons, and equipment by a command staff member who responded to the scene.

“Deputies are held to a higher standard, as they must abide by all BCSO policies and procedures, both on and off duty. The Internal Affairs Investigation is an administrative investigation that could take some time to complete, with multiple people needing to be interviewed,” wrote the sheriff’s office in a press release.

The sheriff’s office asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate this incident for any possible criminal violations.

“It is important to understand that while our office is conducting an administrative investigation, any criminal investigation being conducted by SLED will be conducted as a parallel investigation in accordance with the standards set forth by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA),” explained the sheriff’s office.

The incident was caught on video which have circulated on social media and appear to show an off-duty deputy pointing his gun at three teenagers.

Graphic language has been removed from the video, but viewer discretion is advised.

Neighbors say the deputy was called out there by someone but weren’t sure what led up to him needing to be called.

The video then shows the deputy start to put the gun away, then pull it back out when it looks as if the teens are not on the ground.

After this, the teens then plead for someone to call the police.

“I am the police,” responded the deputy.

The deputy then starts to grab a nearby backpack and one of the teens is then seen going after it, when the deputy starts to look inside and is then joined by another teens who pushes the deputy.

That is when the deputy pulls out his gun and point it at the teens.

From another video we obtained, it shows someone holding down one of the teens and we learn that someone thought the teens had a gun.

“Mom, they think we have a gun….they flashed a gun bro.”

From the video, you can hear that the teens are shocked by this accusation.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy’s identity will be released, “at a future point in time.”

They also said they will not be responding to any further questions regarding this incident at this time.

If anyone has information, including videos, that could be helpful in this investigation the sheriff’s office asks that you share them with the Internal Affairs Investigator assigned to this case, they can be reached at 843-255-3404.