Name: David LaBarre
Age: 45
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: www.labarreforsheriff.com
Occupation and employer: Law Enforcement – Durham County Sheriff’s Office
1. What do you believe are the most important issues facing the Sheriff’s Office? What are your top three priorities in addressing these issues?
1. Our response to the mental health needs of the community.
I want to collaborate with all local governing bodies to implement a comprehensive and standardized response to our neighbors in crises across Orange County. This model would include responses from trained unarmed mental health professionals as well as co-responses with law enforcement depending on the risk assessment. The main focus is to provide care and reduce harm with alternatives to policing and prosecution. As an advocate for decriminalizing mental illness and as a taxpayer, I would like to see the access to care and continuity of services provided across the entire county. Standardizing this response allows community members, managers, and elected officials the ability to monitor, evaluate, and adjust in a pragmatic sustainable manner. This approach would leverage our investments and decrease the financial burden to the community.
Making Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) and Mental Health First Aid Training mandatory for all deputies post academy or after hiring laterals is critical to the success of our response to our neighbors in crises, a policy that currently doesn’t exist at Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Graduates of this training understand and appreciate the value of verbal and non-verbal techniques to de-escalate situations. For example, something as simple as turning down the volume on a radio or dimming a light switch can have a dramatic effect on outcomes.
Officer readiness is one thing that is near and dear to my heart, something that I always think of when I see rotating shifts coming in to relieve each other. The culture of law enforcement and the fact that we become so mission-focused, going call to call, there’s rarely enough time for self-care, and it’s certainly not built into the shift. I would like to reallocate existing operating funds to create an officer wellness program to promote awareness and healing strategies from trauma-informed professionals and peer support specialists. Officers mask their trauma through constant repetition of dangerous encounters. Whether or not we’re paying attention, the body keeps score and continues to collect physical and emotional scars. One of the hardest things for officers to say is – I need help. People are our most valuable assets, and as leaders, we must continue investing in their well-being, on and off the job.
2. The passing of Iryna’s Law has created a variety of operational concerns for the Sheriff’s Office, at least in its current form. This legislation was signed into law on October 3, 2025, by Governor Stein after Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, was brutally murdered while riding the light rail in Charlotte, NC, on August 22, 2025. I agree with portions of this law, but not in its entirety; and I do not support the death penalty.
It is absolutely imperative that we keep our community safe and free from these senseless acts of violence, especially when patterns of violence have already been established. In short, Iryna’s Law restricts judicial discretion in granting pretrial release and eliminates cashless bonds for certain offenses. As a result, the overall number of detainees housed inside the jail will increase, their length of stay in jail will increase, workload demands for detention staff and medical providers will increase, which ultimately increases operating costs. Whether one agrees with this unfunded mandate or not, the financial and operational costs are imminent and we will have to monitor it very closely. According to a report from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, North Carolina annually detains more than 11,000 people with serious mental illness. The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) states that 44% of people incarcerated in local jails have a history of mental illness and more than half of them experience delayed access to treatment.
The evidence is clear. Our family members and neighbors need access to care and we have to pass a budget that fully funds treatment for mental illness. If elected, my priorities will be to continue engaging the community and advocating for mental health treatment; to evaluate any existing jail-based mental health services; conduct benchmarking of similar jurisdictions; conduct a space needs assessment, as proper classification and environmental factors are crucial to the success of mental health treatment; identify any deficiencies in the process including a staffing analysis; evaluate the budget and workload demands; collect and share data with all stakeholders including county leadership and the board of county commissioners.
3. The community has been asking for more transparency and accountability from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. In a data-accessible world, people want to see performance measures and whether their tax dollars are actually enhancing public safety. There is so much at stake with centuries of underserved communities overrepresented in our jails and criminal justice system. According to North Carolina General Statute, the “Sheriff is the only officer of local government required by the Constitution.” Sheriffs have an irrefutable amount of power and authority and will go to great lengths to distinguish their agency as an office, as opposed to a department. You will often hear statements like “I only answer to the people.” As a result, the general public only knows what the Sheriff is willing to disclose. Constituents are allowed to submit public records requests, but even those can be controversial. They share what they want you to see while hiding everything else. Longevity, a lack of oversight and uncontested elections are components of a legacy that I want to end. I want to challenge and be challenged, because that is what holds us accountable.
Following more than a decade of intentional social and criminal justice research and reform, I decided to run for Sheriff. One of my priorities is to implement a third party independent oversight committee to increase transparency and accountability. I will seek community input before starting new initiatives or requesting budget amendments. I will be transparent during all situations and share all relevant information so long as it is supported by the law and doesn’t interfere with ongoing investigations. I will build organizational trust by meeting with community members, leaders, activists, partisan and nonpartisan groups, and create opportunities to have hard conversations about the needs and concerns of the community.
2. What in your record as a public official or other experience demonstrates yourability to be an effective county sheriff? This might include career or community service; be specific about its relevance to this office.
In 2002, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University. I spent the following summer in the Ukraine on a mission trip with my church, before getting hired by the Durham County Sheriff’s Office in 2003. I was assigned and eventually supervised officers in nearly every division of the Sheriff’s Office. I obtained my basic, intermediate and advanced law enforcement certificates from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and have received a multitude of commendations throughout my career including the Durham Civitan Club’s Officer of the Year (2008) and (3) Grit Awards from the Herald Sun (2008, 2012, & 2013).
I applied for and was selected to be a member of the Hazardous Devices Unit in 2007 and went on to become a Hazardous Devices Technician through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). In 2008, I was assigned to the Sheriff’s Anti-Crime and Narcotics Unit where I investigated and obtained prosecutions for transnational drug dealers and violent gang members. A year later, I was sworn into the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force for three consecutive terms from 2009-2015, with a focus on crimes of racketeering, drug conspiracy and firearms violations. During this time, I became a certified General and Specialized Instructor for Physical Fitness and Subject Control & Arrest Techniques (SCAT) through the North Carolina Department of Justice. I achieved the rank of sergeant, received more than 3,000 hours of training, and had executed more than 500 search warrants. I also graduated from the West Point Leadership Program Session XXV and the NCSU Law Enforcement Executive Program (LEEP).
In 2016, I suffered a career-ending injury that required physical and occupational therapy for the following eight months. After an outpouring of support from the community, I learned how to work through my trauma and established a new normal. In 2017, I applied for a promotion as the Director of Planning and Development, an executive command staff role that focuses on strategic planning, budgeting and project management. During my tenure, I helped expand jail-based mental health and addiction services and served on the executive steering committee for the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP). It was here that I managed the largest administrative division in the Sheriff’s Office whose primary responsibilities included criminal process, civil process, domestic violence protective orders, sex offender registry and gun permits. During the first year of this assignment I also managed the IT Division and served as the interim public information officer.
In 2019, state law required all county residents to pass a criminal background check before being issued a gun permit from the Sheriff’s Office. I discovered loopholes in North Carolina’s Gun Laws where permit holders who were being charged with violent offenses still maintained the ability to carry concealed weapons with unlimited purchasing authority. As a result, I created and implemented a policy where daily background checks were conducted on all gun permit holders. Anytime a permit holder was charged with a new criminal offense, they would be flagged in our database. I also trained staff how to monitor the database and how to conduct administrative probable cause hearings to determine if the criminal offenses met the criteria for revocation. In the first six months we revoked 81 concealed weapon permits for violent offenses including Assault on a Female; Assault with a Deadly Weapon; and Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer.
For the last eight years, I have prepared and presented all of the Sheriff’s legislative documents to the Board of County Commissioners. These actions include more than $20M in budget ordinance amendments, $30M in capital project amendments, and more than $25M in contract approvals. I have written and received more than $2M in grants to expand jail-based substance abuse treatment, fund COVID related expenditures, and replace gear and equipment for six specialized teams.
Throughout my career, I have successfully led both sworn and civilian employees through emergency and non-emergency situations. Annually, I work with command staff
members to conduct program and policy audits, workload assessments, and staffing analyses. I have reclassified more than three dozen job positions, and in some instances, transferred law enforcement duties to civilian employees. I have hired, trained, promoted, counseled, and fired employees as a manager. In one particular incident, I provided evidence that helped convict and imprison one of my supervisors for 25 counts of embezzling.
I have met with activists to discuss controversial topics like over-policing, excessive force and how the “Defund the Police” movement devastated our ability to recruit and retain good officers. It was a terrible mantra, for a just cause. As a commissioner of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, I submerged myself in systemic issues that have plagued our black and brown communities. It became very clear that addressing the root causes of crime starts with prevention, diversion and intervention. I am a reformer, I tell the truth, and feel confident taking on the role of Sheriff. My training, experience, and willingness to collaborate makes me the best candidate to serve the residents of Orange County.
3. If you are challenging an incumbent, what decisions has the incumbent made that you most disagree with? If you are an incumbent, what in your record and experience do you believe entitles you to another term?
1. Sheriff Blackwood claims that he does not participate with ICE, though he has sent a member of our immigrant community to the Alamance County Jail for pretrial detention in March of 2025. For those who do not know, the Alamance County Sheriff is an outspoken supporter of President Trump’s Mass Deportation Policy. The Alamance County Sheriff has also been a long-standing participant in the 287(g) program which houses ICE agents inside his jail.
So what does this mean? It means that immigrants and refugees are in grave danger of being deported, regardless of being innocent or guilty of a criminal offense. If Sheriff Blackwood cares about our immigrants, why would he not have transferred custody of this immigrant to a jail in a neighboring jurisdiction with available bedspace that fully supports the immigrant and refugee community and is not a member of the 287(g) program? This decision was disheartening and avoidable. It heightened safety concerns across the immigrant community amid the ongoing discriminatory operations conducted by ICE that have been riddled with a lack of due process and most recently, excessive and deadly force.
One of my neighbors, who happens to be an immigrant, came to me after this event with tears in her eyes. Filled with shame and fear, she explained how Sheriff Blackwood’s policies have enslaved her in a domestic violence relationship with her children’s father, who is undocumented. She stated that he loves their children and they love him, though he is verbally and physically abusive to her. She continued to say, “If I call Orange County Sheriff’s Office for help, there is a real possibility that he could be deported, and right now it’s more important for my children to have a father than it is for me to feel safe.”
Another thing to consider: what kind of example does this set for the rank and file at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office? Try to imagine “the Sheriff” arriving on scene and sending an immigrant directly to Alamance County’s 287(g) program. The Sheriff independently set the standards, values, and expectations for how these situations should be handled in the future. As a sidenote, this action was made before HB 318 became law. When asked about the incident, Sheriff Blackwood stated that this policy was in place well before he got in office. So, he is not willing to take responsibility for the policy, but has obviously signed off on it when he was elected. This is a perfect example of where a third party independent oversight committee could review the agency’s general orders and make recommendations that are focused on protecting our civil and constitutional rights.
2. Nearly five years after a detainee died while in custody of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, The Assembly published an article that outlines multiple failures to supervise, including by Sheriff Blackwood.
On March 4, 2020, Maurice King was fatally assaulted by another detainee inside B-Pod at the Orange County Jail. B-Pod is known for housing violent offenders. A federal lawsuit filed by King’s mother alleges that after the assault, detention officers neglected to complete three mandatory checks on her son’s cell for an hour and a half. The policy requires detention officers to complete twice-an-hour rounds to look into each detainee’s cell to ensure their well-being and that they are adhering to jail policies.
Inspectors with the state Division of Health Service Regulation cited Orange County five times for supervising issues in the years leading up to King’s death. In 2019, just eight months prior to King’s death, a state inspector reported a series of findings related to visual obstructions, a surveillance camera malfunction, and a communication system failure. The report of these findings was provided to Sheriff Blackwood and in turn, he responded with a correction plan that the state accepted.
Unfortunately, Sheriff Blackwood did not fix the problems. State inspectors found that detention officers failed to look into each detainees’ cell on the night of King’s death. Sheriff Blackwood had previously stated that he would take disciplinary action against officers who failed to comply with supervision requirements. In a deposition, Sheriff Blackwood stated that he never took any disciplinary action against the detention officers, even though he said he would. The state has continued to cite Orange County Sheriff’s Office for visual obstructions and gaps in supervision rounds.
Maintaining proper care and custody of our most vulnerable population is unquestionably one of the most difficult responsibilities for a Sheriff. The pressure is real, the stakes are high. I cannot guarantee that a jail death will not occur while I am in Office; however, I will be transparent with my failures, seek accreditation to mitigate risks and increase safety, and seek public input with a focus on reducing recidivism and increasing access to care.
3. On Sunday, October 5, 2025, a mother and her teenage son were victims in a road rage incident that quickly escalated to gun violence. Once both vehicles were stopped, a female named Samantha Russo exited the aggressor’s Honda Civic and pointed a gun at the teenage boy. As they attempted to call 911, Russo returned to her vehicle and fired two rounds, a felony offense.
Deputies responded and wrote citations for Russo and the driver of the Honda Civic, and then released them at the scene. What deputies failed to enforce was the felony act of discharging the firearm. During an interview with CBS17, Sheriff Blackwood’s comments marginalized a life-threatening encounter of gun violence toward a black mother and her teenage son. He made no comments about a further investigation, nor was there any mention of a follow up with Ms. Russo to assess her well-being and mental status.
Road rage is one thing, but this type of reckless behavior is often a precursor to more severe acts of violence. Sheriff Blackwood’s final comment, “So, it’s just more prudent to get them back to what they’re doing and get us back to what we’re doing,” was an egregious example of nonfeasance. Would such a casual stance have been taken if the suspects were black males and the victims were white?
After four days of public outrage and disapproval, Sheriff Blackwood had officers charge Russo with discharging a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear.
When community members have low trust in law enforcement, they choose other means of protection, which starts and ends with more violence. Immigrants are not safe, detainees are not safe, and victims of gun violence are not safe, so who are we keeping safe?
4. Parts of Orange County have seen upticks in crimes, particularly carjacking sand break-ins, committed by young people. What needs to be done about juvenile offenses? What role does the sheriff, whose jurisdiction is outside of city limits, have in addressing it?
We need to educate the public in traditional and non-traditional ways about these types of offenses including the frequency, locations, and time of day. Not only does this give the general public situational awareness, it helps them be proactive and reduces their risk of being victimized. If we reduce the opportunity, we reduce the chance of a crime being committed.
While I appreciate our local delegation fighting to get “Raise the Age” signed into law in 2017 and implemented in 2019, I have had concerns about how these workloads were transferred from the adult criminal process to the juvenile process. Specifically, were workload and staffing analyses completed, and what were the results? When inadequate resources accompany these mandates, it puts a negative spin on the efficacy of an initiative that the community is seeking.
As Sheriff, with full jurisdiction across Orange County, I would work with all of the police chiefs within Orange County to create a taskforce focused on investigating these offenses. A key component of this taskforce is “local”, as in, being comprised of police officers who work for town councils and boards in Orange County with shared values of prevention, diversion, and enforcement, as opposed to Sheriff Blackwood’s current “Strike Team” and collaboration with Alamance County.
Carjackings and larceny of firearms from vehicles, for example, are crimes upstream of other violent crimes like drive-by-shootings and murder. In my opinion, there is a lot of value in prioritizing vehicle break-ins and carjackings. It’s an opportunity for law enforcement to engage with our youth offenders and their family members before more serious offenses are committed and they are tried as adults. My goal is to Educate, Encourage, and Enforce, but unfortunately, we know it will not always be in that order.
5. Police officers’ and sheriff’s deputies’ personnel files, including disciplinary records, are not public documents in North Carolina. Given that law enforcement in some cases has the power of life and death, do you believe it is appropriate for members of the public to know whether a law enforcement agent has been disciplined and why?
One-hundred percent! A keystone of my campaign is building public and inter-agency trust through transparency and accountability. There is so much at stake and the power
and authorities granted to law enforcement officers is too great not to be more transparent with hiring, firing, promotional, and disciplinary actions. Over the course of my career I have seen officers allowed to voluntarily resign to avoid punishment, only to be hired by a neighboring agency within the following 12 months. I have also seen this happen with officers who are within a year or two of retirement; they have gotten in trouble, resigned, and started working at another agency to finish out their careers. The problem lies when officers’ actions go unaddressed and the pattern of behavior continues. It’s concerning to me as a father, officer, and taxpayer.
In 2021, Governor Cooper signed into law Senate Bill 300: Criminal Justice Reform. This bill increased training standards for officers and requires more intervention for misconduct and excessive force, amongst other reporting requirements. Increasing standards are important, but I think requiring agencies to share information about misconduct with the public is more important.
It has been reported that Sheriff Blackwood hired and promoted an officer who was caught lying under oath in court by the defense and the case was dismissed. When this happens, prosecutors may submit documentation regarding the lie or omission of fact from the officer, placing them on a “Giglio List”. In short, this means that the officer’s credibility has been deemed no longer reliable in court.
I have spoken with officers involved in this case who were also present during this testimony, including Susan Seahorn, the public defender who was trying the case. It was also reported that even though Charles Blackwood was not the Sheriff at the time of this incident, he was aware of it, and chose to rehire this officer anyway.
Sheriffs should hold their deputies accountable, regardless of how a prosecutor chooses to handle a case. An internal investigation should be conducted and the findings should be shared with the public. The sad reality is, the public will probably never know what, if any, action was taken.
This is an abuse of power, a lack of transparency, and a potential threat to a defendant’s right to due process. It’s disheartening when honest, hardworking officers are held to one standard, yet led by another, and I have no tolerance for it.
6. Over the past two years, the legislature has expanded requirements for local sheriffs to notify ICE about individuals in custody and hold them for up to 48 hours or until ICE takes them into custody. What in your opinion is the impact of this change on communities and sheriff’s offices?
HB 318 was signed into law after Governor Stein’s veto was overridden by Republican lawmakers in August of 2025. Sheriff’s Offices that previously chose not to honor ICE detainers will now be required to; as the law now states that once a detainer is received by a judicial official, they in turn sign an order requiring Sheriffs to hold undocumented immigrants up to 48 hours after making bond. Officers are also required to determine immigration status during felony and DWI arrests. Detention officers are required to notify ICE prior to releasing undocumented immigrants from the jail.
This law intensifies the existing fear in our immigrant and refugee communities. Families are being separated, children are missing school and having adverse childhood experiences that result in traumas being left untreated. Women will continue to be enslaved in domestic violence relationships for fear of deportation. Access to basic necessities and consumables are restricted due to fear of discriminatory round-ups at locations where these items are sold. Community members have united to establish rapid responses to ICE operations by collaborating with organizations such as Siembra NC.
As far as voluntarily working with ICE, a local Sheriff cannot enforce federal law; so I do not intend to. If elected, and absent any prior notifications, no law enforcement operation nor the appearance thereof, will be conducted on any street in Orange County without the Sheriff’s Office safely attempting to identify who the individuals are, whether before or after the operation. This statement comes as a direct result of what we assume are law enforcement officers, driving unmarked vehicles, wearing masks and street clothes without agency insignia, and taking community members into custody. It’s a delicate balance of protecting our fourth amendment rights while also not resisting, delaying, or obstructing federal law officers from discharging their sworn duties. Notwithstanding, if there is any evidence of excessive force or lack of medical care, we will intervene without delay to reduce harm and hold those involved accountable.
There’s a real sense of vigilantism when, who we assume are officers, driving unmarked cars, wearing masks and street clothes without agency insignia. When this type of behavior goes unchecked in our community, we would be fools to think that criminal organizations are not in the shadows, watching and planning how to adopt these tactics in broad daylight.
7. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has a budget of more than $20 million. Isthis sufficient? What would you seek additional funding for? Conversely, as federal funding puts pressure on local government budgets, what Sheriff’s Office expenses could be reduced?
It is difficult to answer this question without having full access to the budget details and miscellaneous contracted services. I do not recall seeing any meaningful performance measures posted within the budget documents. After a bit of digging, I found a capital project on the horizon to build a new location to store and maintain evidence near the jail on Hwy 70. Part of my community engagement strategy is to invite the public in to get a better understanding of what services are mandatory and which ones are not. This could result in decreasing, increasing, or reallocating existing dollars for higher priorities across the community. I am curious to see the capital life-cycle replacement schedule and what asset management system is utilized.
I anticipate asking for additional funding to reduce recidivism by expanding mental health services and substance abuse treatment. However, I would not submit any budget request without a rigorous evaluation of the existing programs, demands, resources, and a chance to engage the community.
For example, detainees assigned to the Medication Assisted Treatment Program (MAT) often divert their Suboxone tablets by regurgitating and selling them to other detainees inside the jail. A quick solution is to administer the medication via a shot once a month,
as opposed to daily tablets. While reducing the workloads will offset the initial costs, it does not independently support the transition. However, I feel that better consumption methods and removing the ability to manage a criminal enterprise from inside the jail are more important, even though the costs are higher. Other things to consider: it is critical that detainees maintain their tolerance levels while incarcerated, if not, they are at risk of overdosing during reentry. The shot also extends medication coverage for up to 30 days, which will support challenges with access to care during reentry.
Another potential cost increase is to upgrade the current Records Management System (RMS), which are typically tied into the Jail Management System (JMS) and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD). It has been reported that all public safety agencies in Orange County share this same system. Deputies and police officers have shared that the system has reached its end of life and needs to be replaced.
RMS, JMS, and CAD systems are data repositories and should serve as the nucleus of agency operations. This is where data-informed decisions are created, monitored, and evaluated. These systems help identify crime trends, which provides leadership the ability to efficiently and effectively deploy adequate resources. Similar features, like Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL), uses geocoded technology to optimize personnel allocations by identifying the officers closest to crimes in progress.
I will never use your tax dollars to purchase a luxury SUV like a Jeep Grand Wagoneer as my work vehicle. That’s not service, that’s entitlement. If elected, I will drive the oldest vehicle in the fleet while serving as Sheriff. This is how we shift culture through servant leadership and invest in initiatives that actually keep the community safe. Speaking of the Sheriff’s fleet, why hasn’t a portion of it been converted to hybrids yet? Not only does this align with Orange County’s recently adopted strategic plan to reduce our carbon footprint, it supports my efforts of environmental justice, which disproportionately affects our black and brown communities.
Currently, it feels like we’re standing on the edge of a financial cliff. As a result of my research, I have identified approximately $72,000 to $100,000 that could be reallocated over the next four years to increase housing vouchers for detainees during reentry and to fund a wellness program for officers dealing with trauma. How do we do this? By canceling the “Sheriff’s App”. This is a cellphone application that rarely works and duplicates a service that taxpayers are already paying for. When you need the Sheriff’s Office, you call 911, or you go to the website. This is another example of the Sheriff wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars on an annual basis for something that does not keep us safe.
8. The Crisis Assistance, Response, and Engagement (CARE) team recently expanded from Chapel Hill into Carrboro with plans for a future mobile unit. Doyou support this expansion? How should the Sheriff’s Office and CARE work together, and what oversight should the Sheriff’s Office have over these responders outside of town limits?
I do support this initiative, and hope to collaborate with all local governing bodies to implement a comprehensive and standardized response to our neighbors in crises across Orange County. As I previously mentioned, I envision a model that would include responses from trained unarmed mental health professionals as well as co-responses with law enforcement, depending on the risk assessment. The main focus is to provide care and reduce harm with alternatives to policing and prosecution. As an advocate for decriminalizing mental illness and as a taxpayer, I would like to see the access to care and continuity of services provided across the entire county. Standardizing this response allows community members, managers, and elected officials the ability to monitor, evaluate, and adjust in a pragmatic, sustainable manner. This approach would leverage our investments and decrease the financial burden to the community.
In terms of oversight, I want to make sure that as an elected official, I am fulfilling my legal obligations to the community and that access to care is available and provided to all community members. My understanding is that there is a steering committee in place
that will likely add new stakeholders as the program grows. I have discussed the benefits of the CARE team with Chapel Hill Police Chief, Celisa Lehew and she stated that it has been a huge success and a community driven evolution of Chapel Hill’s longstanding Crisis Response Unit. While grant funding for this initiative will be ending in 2026, town councils and county commissioners have budgeted dollars to sustain and expand the program. Chief Lehew also mentioned how the CARE team played a critical role at the shelter during the recent snow event.
Carrboro Police Chief, Chris Atack is also a champion of CARE after the recent expansion in Carrboro. We have discussed how CARE not only improved responses for those in crises, it has also increased the police department’s ability to focus on larcenies and assaults. Carrboro Police Officers have shared that they are very thankful for the CARE expansion. I also had a chance to speak with Hillsborough Police Chief, Jason Winn about CARE and he was interested in learning how it could be expanded throughout Orange County. A common theme in these conversations was the lack of access to long-term care.
This emphasizes the importance of having an upgraded RMS/JMS/CAD system for all law enforcement agencies to accurately track these types of calls. We must unite and become lockstep with our local, state, and national delegates to fight for access to affordable healthcare for all. It’s time for Sheriffs to start looking upstream at systemic issues that address the root causes of crime.
9. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has previously been cited by state inspectors for not following supervision requirements, which help ensure the safety of detainees and the facility. For the incumbent, what have you done to ensure compliance with supervision requirements? For challengers, what would you do if elected?
I would start by immediately addressing the state jail inspectors’ findings, and if needed, request additional funding or resources. I would conduct a thorough review of all historical inspections to identify any trends with personnel or infrastructure failures. I would personally review all personnel files of officers involved in the findings and provide counseling or training to ensure competency and officer readiness. I would task command staff members with conducting random audits of cameras and badge readers to ensure that safety rounds were being completed in a satisfactory manner. I would network with other local jails to research best practices and modern technologies to mitigate these issues.
My research has found that there are badge reader systems that can be mounted to every jail cell within each pod. This system requires detention officers to indicate the status of every detainee such as: laying on left side, sitting down reading, etc. While it may take more time to complete safety checks, it holds detention officers more accountable.
Orange County Jail is managed by in-direct supervision, meaning that detention officers do not have work stations inside the pods. This reduces their ability to build relationships with detainees throughout the day. I am curious if this new $28M facility would ever support the ability to transition to direct supervision.
10. Give an example of an opinion, policy, vote, or action you changed based on constituent feedback. If you have not yet held elected office, describe a time when you changed your position on an issue after listening to those affected by it.
The jail in Durham currently houses roughly 450 detainees on a daily basis. Everyday, for the last nine years, I have listened to detainees laughing, yelling, and playing in the recreation areas from my office. This has made me reflect on what my life could have looked like if I didn’t have the grace, mercy, support and privileges I have had over the last 45 years. It has made me realize that low-level drug offenses involving marijuana
have disproportionately affected the black and brown communities. I have spoken with justice involved community members whose addictions to opioids have enslaved them to lives that they no longer have control over. Twenty years ago, I recall arresting folks with mental health disorders for criminal offenses, not because it was the best course of action–it was the only course of action, due to a lack of care and the fact that they had reached a point where they were a threat to themselves and others if not taken into custody.
These are examples throughout my career where my priorities have shifted from merely enforcement to prevention, diversion and intervention. Public safety isn’t about more cops, it’s about the right cops, and in some cases, no cops, and leadership that knows the difference. I’m not focusing on prevention, diversion, and intervention in spite of enforcing the law, I am doing it because I know it works.
If elected, I will donate $10,000 of my first year’s salary to create a scholarship for families affected by gun violence. This is my commitment to breaking generational curses and building generational wealth for those who do not know what that feels like.
11. Are there any issues this questionnaire has not addressed that you would like to address?
Advocating for common sense gun laws and responsible gun ownership is something that I will continue to fight for.