CHARLOTTE — A state lawmaker and four former Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office employees are asking a judge to remove Sheriff Garry McFadden from office, alleging a pattern of retaliation, abuse of authority and misconduct.
The 32-page court filing accuses McFadden of discouraging officers from reporting use-of-force incidents, directing deputies to chauffeur officials to bars and strip clubs, and threatening Rep. Carla Cunningham after a legislative dispute. The State Bureau of Investigation is now reviewing the claims.
Channel 9’s government reporter Joe Bruno spoke with the lawmaker, who claims she was threatened by the sheriff.
To put this in context, Cunningham said this threat happened a short time after Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman was shot and killed. She said it’s important the McFadden complaint was filed so voters have a clear picture heading into the primary.
“We have to follow the law, and that doesn’t exempt anybody, elected or not, we must follow the law,” said Rep. Carla Cunningham, north Charlotte.
Cunningham is teaming up with four former Mecklenburg County Sheriff employees to ask a judge to remove Sheriff Garry McFadden from his position.
They accuse McFadden of:
- Discouraging detention officers from reporting use of force incidents involving inmates and staff.
- Directing on-duty deputies to drive members of the National Sheriffs Association to bars and strip clubs during a conference.
- And weaponizing the Internal Affairs Unit and threatening Cunningham as retaliation.
Cunningham said after the sheriff failed to convince her to vote against an immigration bill, he told her he would hate to see something happen to her.
“I did hang up immediately, and I sat for a few minutes and thought about the conversation and just made some decisions that I needed to make at the moment,” Cunningham said.
The SBI is investigating the allegations. Cunningham said she hopes voters will research them before heading to the polls this March.
“I think they need to look deeper on any experience and their background and make sure that they are a pretty good person of standing in the community, and that they’re going to follow the law,” Cunningham said.
“Filled with lies”
On Tuesday, Sheriff McFadden spoke before a forum on reopening the county’s juvenile detention center.
During that forum, Sheriff McFadden responded to the petition, stating, “We’re not going to make a long statement about this petition; a petition is nothing but a smear campaign designed just before the election.”
He expressed confidence in the investigation, saying, “It is filled with lies, and we welcome the investigation, and we respect the investigation that will be occurring, and that is all we’re going to say at this time.”
After expressing his concerns, McFadden refocused on the detention center, saying it faced many challenges.
He said reopening it would take an extra 96 staff members and cost an estimated $15.6 million to run.
McFadden originally closed the facility in 2022 due in part to budget and resources.
McFadden is currently facing three challengers in the upcoming primary, two of whom are former employees of his office.
This competitive environment adds further pressure as the allegations surface shortly before the election.
What the law says
State law says the only way to remove a sheriff is through a court process, which is what this petition is asking for. There have been two similar attempts in North Carolina in recent years.
Last year, a removal petition was filed against Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran after he was accused of sexual misconduct. He retired before it was heard.
In 2023, a removal petition was filed against Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene after he was accused of making racist comments. He also resigned.
VIDEO: DA asks the SBI to investigate allegations against Mecklenburg County sheriff
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