Bryan Maines’ roots run deep into the mountains of Alleghany – his family has been here for generations. A 20+ year veteran of the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, he worked his way through a variety of roles within the department.
He recently completed his first year as sheriff. I recently sat down with him to review the accomplishments of his first year in office. Specifically, we talked about new programs that he has initiated or expanded.
The Charlotte woman didn’t know her daughter was a drug addict until she heard a thud upstairs.
Her daughter, a bright Myers Park High graduate, had returned from college for the weekend with a sack of dirty laundry. Her mother was folding clothes in the den when she heard the fall of her daughter’s unconscious body.
She sprinted upstairs.
“She’s unconscious on the floor, blue, not breathing. No heartbeat,” said the mother, who spoke on the condition that neither she nor her daughter be identified to avoid hurting her future prospects. “I started screaming.”
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — When New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jose Lugo used naloxone to save a young woman’s life in December, he became the first law enforcement officer in coastal North Carolina to administer the overdose reversal drug.
Lugo and his patrol partner were dispatched about lunchtime Dec. 16 to to a home off South College Road. Dispatchers told the two deputies the 23-year-old woman had overdosed on heroin.
“We heard, ‘unconscious,’ ‘not breathing,’ ‘CPR in progress,'” Lugo said.
CARTER COUNTY, TN (WJHL) – An emergency medical services technician and a sheriff’s lieutenant are being hailed heroes after they pulled a man from a burning vehicle on Saturday night. Both men happened to be driving by the scene of a fatal head on collision on Highway 362 at the intersection of Jim Elliot Road when they stopped to help.
Officials with Tennessee Highway Patrol tell us that 47-year-old Viencen Hitecheew was killed in the accident. While the other victim in this crash, 33-year-old Jerry Oaks survived.
Sean Ochsenbein was on his way back from a ski trip with his fiancee when he saw the crash and immediately got out to help.
On January 29, 2016 the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued opinions in three cases that are of critical importance to the Office of Sheriff and the citizens of North Carolina. In these unanimous opinions, authored by Justice Robert H. Edmunds, Jr., the court settled the issue of an elected sheriff’s ability to hire and retain deputies, and other policy making employees, that are loyal to and supportive of the sheriff’s administration. The Supreme Court recognized the indispensable need for a sheriff to select deputies that support the elected sheriff’s policies.
These three cases are McLaughlin and Stanley v. Bailey, __ N.C. __ (2016) (163A15, January 29, 2016); Young v. Bailey, __ N.C. __ (2016) (355PA14-2, January 29, 2016); and Lloyd v. Bailey, __ N.C. __ (2016) (181PA15, January 29, 2016).
In these three cases, four justice officers (detention officers and deputies) brought wrongful dismissal lawsuits against former Sheriff “Chipp” Bailey (Mecklenburg County) alleging they were improperly fired for not supporting Sheriff Bailey during the 2010 election. The Supreme Court of North Carolina heard oral arguments in these cases on December 7, 2015 at a hearing that was attended by many North Carolina Sheriffs in support of former Sheriff Bailey. The issues that were to be decided by the Supreme Court were whether N.C. Gen. Stat. § 153A-99 (County Employee Political Activity) applied to the employees of a sheriff’s office and whether the North Carolina Constitution allows a sheriff to consider a person’s political loyalty when determining whom to employ as a deputy sheriff.
The Supreme Court of North Carolina unanimously ruled in favor of former Sheriff Bailey in all three of these lawsuits. Two critical decisions were made by the Supreme Court in these opinions:
• A sheriff’s office is not a program or department of county government. Therefore, deputy sheriffs and other employees of a sheriff’s office are not county employees for purposes of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 153A-99 (County Employee Political Activity) and are not governed by any of the provisions of that statute.
• Additionally, the Supreme Court held that deputy sheriffs could be lawfully dismissed by a sheriff based on political considerations. The Supreme Court said, in part, “…by standing in the elected sheriff’s shoes, a deputy sheriff fills a role in which loyalty to the elected sheriff is necessary to ensure that the sheriff’s policies are carried out.”
It should be noted that while the plaintiffs in these lawsuits claimed they were improperly fired for not contributing to Sheriff Bailey’s re-election campaign, there was no finding that these plaintiffs were dismissed for not contributing. Rather, the Supreme Court looked at a sheriff’s critical need to have deputies who are loyal to the sheriff as an elected official and who will carry out the policies of the sheriff’s office.
These court decisions are not so much a victory for the sheriffs as they are a victory for the citizens of North Carolina. These court decisions ensure that when the people of a county elect a sheriff, the sheriff has a right to employ deputies that will be loyal to that sheriff and will carry out the mandate of the citizens as expressed by their selection of their county sheriff. This demonstrates one reason why the founders of our State made the Office of Sheriff a constitutionally created office accountable directly to the citizens of the county.
The Office of Governor Pat McCrory announced a number of appointments to various state boards and commissions yesterday (February 3).
Among them was David Huffman of Catawba County, who was reappointed to the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission. Mr. Huffman served as the Sheriff of Catawba County until his retirement in 2010. He has over 42 years of law enforcement experience.
Something is different about Henderson County’s sheriff’s deputies, who were recently reminded of their roots and how they should serve the community.
New seven-point star badges have been issued by Sheriff Charles McDonald as part of his vision for the department as they move forward.
“We felt like going back to the traditional deputy badge (that) reminds us and reaffirms us of what our mission is to the community,” he said.
Police cars in a North Carolina county will soon display “In God We Trust” decals thanks to support from a local church.
Rutherford County Sheriff Chris Francis said he’s been trying to display the nation’s motto on patrol cars for quite some time now, but it wasn’t in the budget, WLOS reported.
Fairview Baptist Church Pastor David Ledford learned of the project and decided to get involved. He offered to fund the decals and agreed to continue to fund the project as new vehicles were added to the unit.
Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman was recognized by Special Olympics North Carolina as 2015 Sheriff of the Year for the Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Norman was honored at this year’s kickoff for the fundraising season for Special Olympics, Sgt. Melanie Martin of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said. Norman was selected out of the 100 sheriffs in the state for his “leadership and dedication” concerning Special Olympics.
Over the past four years, the sheriff’s office has raised more than $30,000 for Special Olympics, including more than $13,000 in 2015 alone. This year, the sheriff’s office is hoping to increase that, Martin said.
SURRY COUNTY, N.C. — A Dobson police officer was killed in an off-duty crash Thursday night on Interstate 77.
Officer Alexander “Dave” Wilmoth, 23, died at the scene of the crash just before 11 p.m. on the southbound side between mile marker 97 and 98. Wilmoth is the nephew of Surry County Sheriff Graham Atkinson.
Wilmoth was driving his personal Toyota pickup truck when he lost control of the vehicle, investigators said. The truck went into the median, crossed back over both southbound lanes, went over a guardrail, overturned several times and hit a tree, investigators said.