Gaston County – Foothills Catalyst

September 1, 2022

Back in 2020 I wrote about the reasons why Rutherford County should start their own police force.

It would take the responsibility off of the Sheriff and let him concentrate on the jail and courthouse. (The 911 Communications Center has already been moved from his office.)
It would take political affiliations out of the equation so that officers would not be afraid for their jobs every four years.
The officers and administrators would be accountable to the county but also would have the job protection of the county policies and procedures standing behind them.
It would place officer/administrative accountability in the County’s hands.
It would help to restore the public’s faith in our officers and their behavior.

Accountability has long been an issue with the Sheriff’s Office. There seem to have been way too many people acting on their own without adequate supervision and oversight.

District Attorney Ted Bell has seemingly turned a blind eye to officer incidents and never has an SBI report been revealed to the public concerning these incidents. Even if charges were warranted, D.A. Bell is the person who decides to charge the officer involved or not. During Bell’s tenure a charge was only made once when the assault of a deputy on a handcuffed inmate was captured on video. That conviction is being appealed this month.

In those law enforcement cases there has been no one that the public could turn to for answers. Cloak and dagger seem to be the operating procedure as far as the general public was concerned.

Recently we have seen more information coming out of the Sheriff’s Office and they have installed a body scanner at the jail, but really, is this too little, too late?

Sheriff Francis is leaving office this year. He is not running for sheriff again. We will have a new sheriff after the November election. There are three good men running for this office but as I have said before, are we not asking too much of one man?

The jail is absolutely out of control. It is going to take a full time commitment to try to fix it. That is hard to do if you are also trying to supervise and coordinate the officers of the Sheriff’s Department whose responsibilities cover Rutherford County. Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties started their own county police departments and left the Sheriff to run the jail and courthouse.

In 2020 I stated that it would take Legislative action to make that even a possibility. I have been researching lately and came across a Senate Bill from 1983 that specifically addresses this issue for Rutherford County.

It was a time when the Commissioners had to face the possibility that their Sheriff might be in some legal difficulty and they would need something in place in the event that he could not perform his duties. The Sheriff (at that time) got it worked out so the County did not pursue it but the Legislation still stands. It reads as follows:

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

1983 SESSION

CHAPTER 271

SENATE BILL 231

AN ACT TO ALLOW THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TO ESTABLISH A COUNTY POLICE FORCE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. The Rutherford County Board of Commissioners is authorized to establish a county police force, to appoint a police chief, to employ other police officers, and to establish the jurisdiction of the county police force within Rutherford County, effective on or after the first Monday in December of 1986.

Sec. 2. Pursuant to this act and other provisions of law, the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners shall adopt and promulgate rules governing the establishment and operation of the Rutherford County police force. Such rules shall be filed with the clerk to the Board of County Commissioners and shall be made available for public inspection at reasonable times.

Sec. 3. (a) The Rutherford County Board of Commissioners MAY put the question of establishing a county police force to a referendum of the qualified voters of Rutherford County. The referendum shall be conducted by the Rutherford County Board of Elections under the provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.

(b) The questions on the ballot shall be:

“@ FOR establishment of a county police force. @ AGAINST establishment of a county police force.”

(c) If the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners CHOOSES to hold a referendum under this section and a majority of the voters vote “FOR establishment of a county police force”, then the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners shall appoint a county police force under Sections 1 and 2 of this act.

Sec. 4. This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 6th day of May, 1983.

Two very important words here, “MAY” and “CHOOSES”, mean that the Commissioners can decide on their own to implement this policy without a vote if they so choose.

The reason that this is so very important at this time is if the County is going to do this they need to decide before the November election. It would be much easier to implement this change before a new administration takes over. Not impossible mind you but easier on everybody concerned.

With all the issues that we currently have with the jail, possible corruption, excessive violence complaints, and outright negligence it is time for the county to step up and do something for the citizens of this county. There is little to no confidence of our current Sheriff’s Office by the general public. It is time to change that.

(L-R) Greg Lovelace, Bryan King, Michael Benfield, Alan Toney, David Hunt

It is time to let the good officers shine and given them all some protection from political repercussions of their own beliefs. It is time for accountability. It is time for action.

If this is something you feel it is time for, contact your County Commissioners. You can contact any of them not just your district representative and let them know. You can leave them a message at 828-287-6060 or you can email them at the following addresses:

Bryan King, Chair (bryan.king@rutherfordcountync.gov)

Alan Toney, Vice-Chair (alan.toney@rutherfordcountync.gov)5

Michael Benfield (michael.benfield@rutherfordcountync.gov)

Greg Lovelace (greg.lovelace@rutherfordcountync.gov)

David Hunt (david.hunt@rutherfordcountync.gov)

The next County Commissioner meeting is Tuesday September 6^th at 6 p.m. in the County Annex Building on 289 N.Main Street in Rutherfordton. Anyone can sign up before the meeting to speak for two (2) minutes and let them know how you feel about this.

Stand up and speak out. This is your community and your tax dollars. Let’s bring transparency, trust and accountability back to the police in our county.

11-8-2020

Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office…..corrupt, mismanaged, or simply just overwhelmed?

Their Vision S tatement is as follows: To be recognized as a leading and professional Office, committed to our citizens and improving the quality of life in our county.

“Commitment to our citizens and improving the quality of life in our county” starts with accountability…. Synonyms are : amenable, answerable, liable, responsible. These are the things we expect from our elected officials. They are to be accountable to not only the people who elected them but the people and communities they serve.

That being said we cannot expect them to do more than is possible in the office they hold. As it has been shown time and again adding more and more responsibility to a position does not necessarily make that position stronger. Unfortunately in many cases the more complex and diverse the duties the more likely that one or more parts of those duties will be lacking in proper supervision or oversight. Also accountability being held by one person without a proper set of checks and balances can become an issue open to prejudice and concerns of possible manipulation.

We have an issue here in Rutherford County. A local issue, not a national one, that needs to be addressed. We have a Sheriff’s Department that is being asked to not only run and operate the Detention Center (Jail), the courthouse security functions, 911 Communications, but also police the non-incorporated areas of one of the largest counties in area in the state.

This seems to be asking way too much of one person. Our Sheriff is trying to manage a budget of over $10,800,00.00 per year. His position is open to election every four years and is therefore political in nature. We have one man that we are holding accountable for all these things in our community however he does not independently fund his own budget. That is done by the taxpayers of Rutherford County through the County Commissioners.

In other counties in the state (Gaston and Mecklenburg) the commissioners along with the NC General Assembly have separated the duties of the Sheriff from actual day to day policing by having the Sheriff be over the jail and courthouse functions and implementing a County Police force that is managed by a Chief that is answerable to the commissioners and county manager. This has freed the actual policing of citizens from the political arena to the administrative one.

Our officers are trained and experienced professionals that unfortunately are bound here in Rutherford County to a political system that has the potential to change direction every four years. This puts an added stress and burden on these professionals as far as job security is concerned. It also can be construed to be biased towards those affiliated with the current political party in power at the time.

With all the current allegations of mismanagement/mistreatment at many levels and in various departments as well as the national climate of police mismanagement/mistreatment it is time to reconsider diversifying the responsibilities of the Sheriff’s department. It is truly unfair to expect one person to be able to control and properly manage everything our current Sheriff is being asked to do.

Our county in the past has considered modifying the duties of the Sheriff’s department. It is time to revisit that idea for multiple reasons. Many aspects and responsibilities of a Sheriff have changed since the establishment of the Office of Sheriff by the 1776 NC Constitution. That being so noted it is would not be unusual to revisit those specific responsibilities. The policing of our citizens should not ever be based on a political affiliation. It should be based on education, experience, and accountability. That accountability should not be to one person but to a governing body that oversees the organization as well as to a citizen’s review board. Those officers should also have the multi-layered protections of being a county employee when faced with social and political pressure from the general public in diverse situations.

The sheriff should be in charge of the jail and courthouse duties. That in of itself is a monumental task to properly administer. The operation of the county’s 911 emergency system and the actual policing of the non-incorporated areas of the county should be done by a non-political county police force answerable to the Board of Commissioners and County Manager who funds them. This in turn should have a non-partisan citizens advisory committee that addresses serious public complaints that then reports their findings to the Commissioners for review.

2020 Commissioners: Front row (l-r) Bryan King, Alan Toney. Back row: Michael Benfield, Eddie Holland (now replaced by David Hunt), Greg Lovelace

This is not a new concept up for consideration. It can be voted on and decided by the Commissioners with approval of the General Assembly. It is a legacy they can leave the county showing that they were progressive enough to understand the seemingly impossible demands of this type of responsibility on one person and were brave enough to take a stand to improve things for not only the office of Sheriff but also the officers of the county and the people they serve.

The following is a statement from the Sheriff ‘s Association website: “The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association consistently and vigorously opposes any legislation introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly that would diminish the duties and powers of the Office of Sheriff in any way.” This would be an uphill battle but not an insurmountable one for our Commissioners. As the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said “The only constant in life is change.”

It is time to take the politics out of policing for Rutherford County. Let your commissioners know how you feel by emailing at the address below or calling them (828-287-6045) concerning this issue. Positive change for Rutherford County is possible.

Bryan King: bryan.king@rutherfordcountync.gov

Greg Lovelace: greg.lovelace@rutherfordcountync.gov

Alan Toney: alan.toney@rutherfordcountync.gov

Mike Benfield: michael.benfield@rutherfordcountync.gov

David Hunt (newly elected) : david.hunt@rutherfordcountync.gov

**If you have any questions or concerns please send them to debkellercares@gmail.com and I will attempt to get them answered for you. (all communications are confidential)

Tag: Gaston County

Should Rutherford County Start Its Own Police Force?

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