There is no public official in Mecklenburg County as beleaguered as Sheriff Garry McFadden. His department has been beset by an exodus of employees, charges of toxic leadership and, most troubling, 21 deaths in the Mecklenburg County jail since McFadden took office in 2018.
Just this year alone:
- Five petitioners, including former employees and state representative Carla Cunningham, filed a court petition seeking McFadden’s removal for “willful misconduct and maladministration in office, and willful and habitual refusal to perform the duties of his office.” (A judge dismissed the petition because it did not have approval from the Mecklenburg County district attorney or county attorney.)
- The mother of an inmate who died in Mecklenburg’s jail sued McFadden after jail staff allegedly denied 42-year-old Renny Mobley the medicine he needed in March 2024.
- McFadden was harshly grilled by members of the NC House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform, who asked him about several issues, including jail deaths and one allegation in the petition that he directed employees to transport dignitaries to bars and strip clubs.
For years, McFadden has too often been dismissive and defensive of the very real issues in his department and at his jail. When asked about jail deaths this month, he told N.C. lawmakers that “People die every day across America.” It’s an astoundingly careless response to people dying in a jail for which he’s responsible.
Fortunately, voters have alternatives to McFadden in the Democratic primary: former Chief Deputy Rodney Collins, former detention officer Antwain Nance and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sgt. Ricky Robbins. There is no Republican running for sheriff…