Three North Carolina law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty were honored Tuesday at the North Carolina Peace Officers Memorial Day. Among those honored was New Bern’s own Officer Alexander E. Thalmann, who died of a gunshot wound on March 31, 2014.

The annual service was held at New Bern’s Temple Baptist Church at 11 a.m., with members of several enforcement agencies and families of those being honored in attendance.

A memorial wreath was set in front of the stage.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper emceed the service and Judge Marion Warren, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, gave the main address.

New Bern Police Chief Toussaint Summers Jr. welcomed attendees. ”This ceremony provides an opportunity to pause and honor our fallen officers,” he said. “Their sacrifices live on in the form of the lives that are left behind.”

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Raleigh, N.C. — Six companies that provide software for hundreds of Internet sweepstakes cafes in North Carolina have agreed to cease operations in the state, the U.S. Attorney Office announced Wednesday.

Under the agreement with U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker, his office will not prosecute the companies or their principals on condition that they stop operations by July 1.

The companies are:
White Sands Technology LLC – 180 locations
Sierra Software LLC – 175 locations
TNT Software LLC – 40 locations
Digital Reveal LLC – 25 locations
Figure 8 Technologies Inc. – more than 200 locations before selling its software in January 2014.
HSV Entertainment LLC

HSV Entertainment had a lease with the City of Roanoke Rapids to operate the Roanoke Rapids Theater, primarily for concerts and other shows. The company also operated Internet sweepstakes games there. Under the agreement, HSV will terminate its operation of the theater May 18.

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WHEREAS, Congress and the President of the United States have designated a national Peace Officers Memorial Day during Law Enforcement Officers Week; and

WHEREAS, the members of law enforcement agencies of North Carolina play an essential role in safeguarding the rights and freedom of the citizens of our state; and

WHEREAS, members of law enforcement recognize their duty to serve the people of North Carolina by safeguarding life and property, by protecting them against violence and disorder, and by protecting the innocent against deception and the weak against oppression or intimidation; and

WHEREAS, during Law Enforcement Officers Week, and throughout the year, the State of North Carolina recognizes and appreciates the critical contributions and sacrifices made by members of law enforcement at all levels, and honors their courage and dedication;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PAT McCRORY, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 4-8, 2015, as “LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WEEK” and May 5, 2015, as “PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

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ASHEVILLE, NC — The Buncombe County sheriff and district attorney announced a new initiative called Operation Blue Note on Friday to crack down on illegal video gaming machines.

During a news conference, Sheriff Van Duncan said machines are back operating illegally after a raid last year in March.

Van Duncan said 20 operators have already been identified and will receive notice by mail in the next two weeks that the gaming machines are illegal. Operators can then voluntarily get rid of the machines or face prosecution.

Because North Carolina’s law has some reference to gaming being legal if there is more skill than luck involved, District Attorney Todd Williams said there have been legal battles that have ended up in the state’s supreme court. However, Williams said he is taking the position that all video gaming machines are illegal in North Carolina.

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NEWTON, N.C. — Recent phone calls claiming to be from the Catawba County Sheriff’ Office’s Warrant Division are a scam to get people to pay unnecessary money, officials said.

Sheriff Coy Reid said somebody called at least two Catawba County residents claiming to be from the sheriff’s warrant division. The caller told residents there were warrants out for their arrests, Reid said Tuesday.

Much like the fake calls from people who claim to be the IRS or a power company, the caller then told the residents the warrants would be taken care of if they paid $2,000 in prepaid debit cards, Reid said. The sheriff’s office doesn’t ever collect money by phone.

Reid said calls to the phone number connected to a voicemail in eastern North Carolina claiming to be the warrant division.

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GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The Gaston County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who is pretending to be one of them.

This fake deputy has been getting in touch with residents and threatens to throw them in jail if they don’t pay a fine on a Green Dot card.

“Law enforcement doesn’t work that way in North Carolina. We never ask you to get a Green card. You come up in person and deal with us personally,” said Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger.

The department learned about this scam after a victim came up Tuesday night and told deputies they had paid a $2,500 fine after missing jury duty.

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Name: Don Ladd

Coaching: Voyager softball

Day job: Chief Deputy Sheriff of Durham.

Coaching resume: Assistant coach, N.C. Spinners travel club, 1998-2002. N.C. Dominators assistant coach, 2003. Cape Fear Storm assistant coach, 2004-present. Durham Riverside High assistant coach, 2004-14. Voyager Academy coach, 2014-present.

Five Questions

How do you go from the sheriff’s office to softball: “When my daughter (Jennifer) joined the N.C. Spinners, I had no idea what we were getting into. … Sitting and watching games from the stands all summer got pretty boring. So when the opportunity to coach came up, I took it. … In 2004, I thought there was absolutely no way I could devote the necessary time to coaching a high school team. (Then-Durham Sheriff Worth Hill) had coached me when I played football at Southern High, and he reminded me that coaching was another way for people in law enforcement to give back to the community.”

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HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. — In Henderson county, there’s one thing law enforcement volunteers are never asked to do– carry a weapon.

They play a vital role for many counties that are strapped when it comes to cash and manpower. Whether it’s traffic duty or courthouse security, the county relies on volunteers every day.

The Henderson County Sheriff’s department fingerprint room gives other departments a blueprint for how volunteers can be utilized.

“The criminals are done in the detention center. We just do the nice people in here,” says Bob Huskey, who’s been volunteering for 18 years.

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What is a sheriff? Mention the word “sheriff” and many people’s minds will fill immediately with images of shootouts and gunfights in the Wild West. Such is the power of old movies and television series, which have so magnified the role of the nineteenth-century American sheriff that it is now virtually impossible to think of sheriffs as existing in any other place or time. Most people would be surprised to know that the office of sheriff has a proud history that spans well over a thousand years, from the early Middle Ages to our own “high-tech” era.

With few exceptions, today’s sheriffs are elected officials who serve as a chief law-enforcement officer for a county. Although the duties of the sheriff vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the sheriff’s office is generally active in all three branches of the criminal justice system: law enforcement, the courts and corrections.

The importance of the modern sheriff was stressed by President Ronald Reagan in his address to the National Sheriffs’ Association on June 21, 1984. He said, “Thank you for standing up for this nation’s dream of personal freedom under the rule of law. Thank you for standing against those who would transform that dream into a nightmare of wrongdoing and lawlessness. And thank you for your service to your communities, to your country, and to the cause of law and justice.”

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DURHAM  —  Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews is a constant advocate of crisis-intervention training for all law enforcement personnel, and he makes it personal for trainees by sharing a story of his own.

Andrews’ dedication to having the first people on the scene of a crisis understand the situation for the person involved and the people around that person was part of why the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s North Carolina chapter named him Outstanding Law Enforcement Executive of the year at its 2015 annual meeting in February.

Andrews, the group said, “is both passionate and compassionate in his desire to divert people with mental illness from jail.”

His agency has about 120 patrol and detention personnel who have been through the course and aims to have everyone trained, Andrews said.

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