We were prompted by some of the responses on the site to a story that ran last week about the Durham sheriff’s race to provide some additional information on a few comments that have appeared on the story.
While Roy Taylor, candidate for Durham sheriff, did disclose to the Independent Weekly that his son has had trouble with the law (see full record here), critics are saying that in a You Tube video, he indicated that neither he, nor anyone in his family, had been “involved in any type of criminal activity.” (Start watching at :41)
Taken as a direct quote without context, we see how this could be interpreted as Mr. Taylor saying no one in his family has committed a crime. But based on the context of the video, we interpreted this to mean Mr. Taylor is saying his family hasn’t been victimized by crime while living in Durham. Here’s the quote:
“Durham has had a reputation for as long as I can remember that it’s a dangerous place to go, that it’s crime infested. And I certainly don’t believe that’s true. … Having been a resident in Durham for 10 years, I have never had myself or my family involved in any type of criminal activity. So, just like in any other big city, there are places you know where you can go and it’s safe and there’s places where you don’t want to go.”
