Spartanburg County Sheriff Bill Rhyne held his first Community Connect event on April 28 at Boiling Springs Middle School, drawing roughly 40 residents and sharing detailed information about the sheriff’s office workforce, compensation and call volume as part of a new outreach initiative launched to rebuild public trust following years of controversy surrounding his predecessor.
Rhyne disclosed that the agency currently employs 623 total staff: 396 assigned to the sheriff’s office and 227 working in the Spartanburg County Detention Center. Starting pay for deputies is approximately $49,942, which Rhyne acknowledged places the agency near the bottom of deputy compensation among Spartanburg County employers. The department responded to 89,380 calls last year.
The event served as an open forum in which residents raised concerns about former investigations, drug prevention efforts across the county, and the overall direction of the office under new leadership. Rhyne said the April 28 gathering is the first of four Community Connect events planned for different parts of the county in 2026.
Rhyne, who took office November 7, 2025, positioned the Community Connect series as his preferred alternative to a citizens’ review committee that county council had considered. In March, he told the council his advisory committee came on election day when voters chose him, and at the April 28 event he elaborated: he argued that citizen oversight boards can generate more confusion than accountability because of legal constraints on law enforcement operations.
The backdrop for the meeting was the tenure of former Sheriff Chuck Wright, who pleaded guilty on October 30, 2025, to wire fraud conspiracy, obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation, and conspiracy to commit theft from programs receiving federal funds. Co-defendants Amos Durham, the former department chaplain, and Lawson Berry Watson also pleaded guilty to related theft and fraud charges.
Multiple attendees described the event as a turning point. One Campobello resident told reporters that the tone of the department had shifted and expressed willingness to give Rhyne time to repair what years of mismanagement had damaged. A Spartanburg resident said deputies under the previous administration appeared to be operating under pressure, and that the change in leadership was visible in how deputies now carry themselves in the community.
Rhyne told the gathering that cultural change within a law enforcement agency cannot happen only from the inside — that the surrounding community also has to adjust its expectations and give the department the chance to demonstrate its commitment. He said the sheriff’s office plans to document names and concerns raised at the meetings and follow up directly with residents.
