Senate Judiciary Committee leaders are reviewing ethics compliance, potential conflicts of interest, and a history of progressive policing policies ahead of a confirmation hearing for Gov. Josh Stein’s nominee to lead the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS), Jeffrey Smythe.
Smythe, appointed in January after Eddie Buffaloe’s retirement, is a former Burlington police chief and current city council member. NCDPS oversees major state public safety functions, including prisons, emergency management, highway patrol, and local agency coordination.
In a May 15 letter to Acting DPS Secretary Jeffrey Smythe, Sens. Danny Britt, R-Robeson; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; and Buck Newton, R-Wilson, said the committee is undertaking a review of “ethics compliance and conflicts of interest” connected to Smythe’s nomination. The senators cited Smythe’s simultaneous service as acting DPS secretary and as a member of the Burlington City Council…