This week the North Carolina House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform held a long awaited hearing with officials from Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden.

Sheriff McFadden has been at the center of controversy in recent months, with multiple former employees expressing pointed criticism of his leadership of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. In today’s hearing Sheriff McFadden repeatedly refused to answer simple, straightforward questions. 

Nick Craig, a reporter with Carolina Journal, shared a series of clips from Sheriff McFadden’s testimony.

• Rep. Charlie Miller, former chief deputy of the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, asked Sheriff McFadden what the state requirement for inmate checks per hour is. Sheriff McFadden refused to answer.
• When Rep. Reece Pyrtle, a retired police chief of the town of Eden in Rockingham County, asked Sheriff McFadden about 21 deaths in jails under his supervision, Sheriff McFadden dodged the question by saying, “people die every day across America.”
• Sheriff McFadden could not provide a reason why his county lagged Wake County when asked by Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Brenden Jones to account for the significant difference between Wake County’s 65% ICE pickup rate and Mecklenburg County’s 16% pickup rate.
• Perhaps the most eye-popping exchange happened when Rep. Allen Chesser, another former law enforcement officer, asked Sheriff McFadden which branch of government he operated under, to which Sheriff McFadden initially replied “Mecklenburg County,” before then offering “Constitution of the United States” and “Mecklenburg County” when given an opportunity to clarify. Rep. Chesser then asked if Sheriff McFadden knew how many branches of the government there are, to which Sheriff McFadden simply stated “No.”

Sheriff McFadden’s appearance raised further red flags: 

• He was asked by Rep. Carla Cunningham of Mecklenburg County about a controversial music studio for inmates in the county jail.
• Sheriff McFadden has been accused of ordering deputies to drive members of the National Sheriffs Association to bars and strip clubs while on duty. Sheriff McFadden refused to answer when asked about that accusation by Majority Leader Brenden Jones.
• Sheriff McFadden did provide some responses to certain questions, though often those answers were as troubling as the non-answers, including affirming his belief that Iryna’s Law was a “mistake” and “no good” had come from it. 

Following the hearing Speaker Destin Hall shared on X “I’ll be blunt. I sponsored HB 318 because Sheriff McFadden repeatedly refused to cooperate with ICE and turned Charlotte into a sanctuary for illegal aliens. Someone tell him it’s his job to enforce the law, not interpret it.”

This week’s hearing reiterates how important it was that following last year’s murder of Iryna Zarutska by career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr., leaders in the North Carolina House sprung to action to pass legislation addressing growing concerns surrounding public safety.

House Bill 307, or Iryna’s Law, passed with a bipartisan vote. At the time Speaker Destin Hall said, “This legislation eliminates dangerous cashless bail policies, holds magistrates accountable, sets a new standard requiring judicial officials to order mental health evaluations and, when necessary, involuntary commitment. We will simply not tolerate policies that allow violent offenders back onto our streets to commit more crimes and jeopardize public safety.”

Thankfully, Iryna’s Law increased public safety in North Carolina and State House leaders continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the tragic murder of Iryna Zarutska. We look forward to learning more in days to come.