The mother of a boy who was held at gunpoint by an off-duty Beaufort County deputy last month has filed a federal lawsuit against the now-fired officer, the sheriff’s office and a group of unidentified neighbors who took part in the tense encounter on Hilton Head Island.
Filed Friday by north-island resident Laquesha L. Habersham, the lawsuit refers to the Sept. 28 event as a “brazen and unlawful incident” and a “shocking abuse of power” by former Master Sgt. William “Billy” Squires. It claims he violated the constitutional rights of the three teens involved.
Squires, who lives in the Squiresgate neighborhood on north-end Hilton Head where the incident took place, was immediately suspended without pay and ultimately fired from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office by the end of the week. A criminal probe into his actions by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is ongoing…