Why are you running?

I understand that there is more to holding a position that just having the title. If you are there for the power of holding a certain title, the people working under you suffer and the citizens you serve suffer as well. The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office used to be held up with the utmost of respect within the law enforcement community and from the citizens as well. That respect has over recent years deteriorated, and it is compromising the mission of the Sheriff’s Office. One priority once elected is to restore the respect that once was shown to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. I do not plan to accomplish this by focusing on this and this alone. I plan to focus on the other issues within the Sheriff’s Office and the respect will be returned based on results.

What is the biggest issue facing the Halifax County Sheriff's Office? Please elaborate and explain how you would address the issue?

During my years in law enforcement, I have learned that people are not always treated equal. Deputies have not been promoted based on training, experience, and education. Citizens have not been served based on equality, but are prioritized based on who they are or where they are from. Not anymore, under my leadership promotions will occur based on merit and merit alone and service to the citizens will be given equally throughout the county with no underlying requirements necessary to receive that service. I will remove both politics and the “buddy system” from the sheriff’s office. Laws apply to everybody and they will be enforced equally. As sheriff I will create a partnership between the sheriff’s office and the community in an effort to reduce crime and make our communities safer.

Crime in Halifax County is out of control, with rates rivaling those of Charlotte Mecklenburg and Wake counties, and it has not been met with a proactive approach to reducing it. I feel, that although streamlining the purchase and concealed carry permit process was needed, citizens would rather know that the items they have worked hard to purchase will be there at the end of the day when they return home. Restructuring the day to day operations of the Sheriff’s Office to ensure as many “boots are on the ground” as possible will go much further in ensuring that the citizens of Halifax County are receiving the service that they deserve.

Drugs are rampant in Halifax County and 95 percent or more of the crimes occurring in Halifax County have a direct relationship with dependence on drugs or alcohol. If 95 percent of the crime in Halifax County is attributable to the sale or use of drugs or alcohol, we need to have a comparable amount of the Sheriff’s Office’s resources trained and prepared to reduce it. When we have more administrators than deputies trained and assigned to combat the problem, we have become top heavy and a restructuring is in order. This restructuring can be done without losing positions.

The Sheriff’s Office suffers from a lack of respect from the community. The Sheriff’s office must know that we work for the citizens and not the other way around. The citizens must know that the Sheriff’s Office is there to serve them no matter their race, gender, or social status, and the deputies must know that their hard work, dedication, and sacrifice will lead them somewhere no matter if they are in the “click” or not. Once these issues have been addressed by ensuring adequate service is provided to all citizens without discrimination, and all deputies are placed into positions based on their education, training, and experience the Sheriff’s Office will be better equipped and structured to face and conquer the rest of the issues facing Halifax County.
Like I said before, I will remove both politics and the buddy system from the sheriff’s office. Laws apply to everybody and they will be enforced equally.

Understanding law enforcement cannot always be at the right place at the right time, how do you go about lowering the crime rate in the county with limited manpower and equipment?


As I stated before, you cannot have more administrators than you have deputies with “boots on the ground.” After an evaluation of positions, and restructuring, we will be able to ensure that within the resources of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, we have as many deputies with “boots on the ground” proactively seeking crime and therefore reducing it. Reducing the crime rate in Halifax County will not occur overnight and will take a unified effort from multiple agencies throughout the county. I will ensure that all the deputies will receive the proper education and training is available to be constantly prepared to deal with issued that come their way. We must be able to work with District Attorney’s office to stringently prosecute cases brought to their office. Partnering with the DA’s office will also allow us to get the people that are convicted and addicted to drugs or alcohol help for their addiction

The state has specifically outlawed internet sweepstakes café, yet they continue to operate in Halifax County. Why are they continuing to operate? Do you feel they should be allowed to operate? Will you enforce the state law?

This question is a little misleading because the state has not specifically outlawed internet sweepstakes cafés. The sate has only outlawed two types of machines used in the sweepstakes. One machine is the slot types that are commonly referred to as “one arm bandits.” The other machines are ones that are not connected to the internet. If a machine gives you phone time, internet time, and connected to the internet it is not illegal. North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement is the state law enforcement agency that has been assigned the task of enforcing all sweepstakes laws. If a sweepstakes is operating illegally we will work closely with the ALE and provide them with any assistance to help them enforce sweepstake laws. If a sweepstakes is operating within the state laws we will work with the business, its owners, and its customers to ensure their safety as we would for any other legal business in Halifax County

In Halifax County, cooperation among other local law enforcement agencies has been paramount in solving numerous crimes. Why does this work and will you take more advantage or less advantage of this in your tenure as Sheriff?
 


As paramount as cooperation between the Sheriff’s Office and municipal agencies within the county is, unfortunately I cannot say that the cooperation in Halifax County is where it needs to be. In Halifax County we have police departments that have sought assistance from the Sheriff’s Office and have been met with the “it’s my way or the highway” mentality. 
 
Although the Sheriff is the only constitutional appointed law enforcement officer, in a county the size of Halifax if you shun your only assistance, local police departments, you are essentially just spinning you wheels if you want to combat crime. 
Under my leadership, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office will become the poster child of asking for local assistance and promoting collaborative crime reduction. In a county that is 730 plus square miles, with five operating police departments, attempting to proactively combat the crime rate without the local police departments direct involvement, is impossible. I am not running to be sheriff because I want to be king of the hill. I am running because I want to make Halifax County a better place from a law enforcement and crime perspective, and I cannot do that effectively without the full cooperation and assistance of our local police departments.

Do you anticipate continuing to use federal adoption of local cases and do you believe your relationship with the feds is strong enough to continue these efforts?
 


Having been a narcotics agent with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, working in an undercover capacity as well, I had the opportunity to work under the supervision of Jay Burch in the biggest narcotics investigation in Halifax County history. During this investigation I learned the dire importance of the federal and state asset forfeiture programs, and their direct impact on the drug trade. I have also learned that for mid-high level drug traffickers, North Carolina’s structured sentencing laws do not provide the deterrent that federal sentences provide, and deterrent is definitely needed here in Halifax County. 
 
Under my leadership as the Sheriff of Halifax County, will seek to work with federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and seek their assistance as often as possible in other criminal investigations to ensure the citizens of Halifax County are as safe as possible. 


What improvements need to be made within the sheriff’s office and how do you go about making those improvements in times of tight budgets? 
 


Through my years of experience I have found that there are several improvements that need to be made within the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. Some of these improvements are dire and some need to be completed immediately, while other improvements can be put on the back burner for the time being, until the county is in a better fiscal position to be able to make these improvements. The biggest thing that must be done from the beginning is improvement expenditures must be prioritized either “wants” or “needs.” We make sure the “needs” are funded and with what is left over (if any), we prioritize the “wants” and fund those. Below is a list of the improvements that I believe need to be addressed within the Sheriff’s Office, along with how I plan to fund them.


Please state the need for a new county jail or its expansion. Are there other ways to deal with inmate overcrowding beyond construction? Please elaborate.

Unfortunately Halifax County is at a point now where jail expansion is not a “want” it is a “need.” A dire “need.” This project is going to be cost to Halifax County but this is a need that can no longer be ignored. I fully understand that the school system also needs money and I am willing to apply for all available grants to help pay for this expansion/construction. At this time I do not see another way to deal with overcrowding other then expansion/construction.

What can the sheriff's office do to be more proactive?

Equipment – Halifax County, just like all other municipalities in the country, has felt the impact of dire economic times. County Commissioners have fought a long hard fight to keep from raising taxes over the last several years and unfortunately to accomplish this, and minimize the cost to taxpayers who also felt the sting of the economic crunch, Sheriff’s Office equipment has been forced to remain in service much longer than usual. Although the county has replaced equipment in the past, there is still much more that needs replacing.

The Jeffery Cotton murder case has yet to be solved. Amy Bridgeman has yet to be found. What are you doing, or what would you do, to solve these two cases.

As sheriff I will put a fresh set of eyes on both the Amy Bridgeman and Jeffery Cotton’s case. I’m not here to point fingers or to place blame. I’m not saying that the cases have not been worked to their full potential. I’m saying that at this point in the two investigations something else needs to be done. The first of many steps would be to give the cases to new investigators to go back over them to look for new leads.