NC House Oversight hearing on Charlotte safety held in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. — Mecklenburg County’s top leaders were in the hot seat in the state’s capitol Monday.

They were called by, and at times scolded by, lawmakers.

“This hearing is not going to be butterflies and roses,” said Chairman Brenden Jones.

The oversight committee held the hearing in the aftermath of Iryna Zarutska’s murder on Charlotte’s Blue Line last year. Police say she was killed by a man who had been arrested multiple times before.

“Her blood is on your hands,” Chairman Jones said.

Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather called on state lawmakers to create better policies to deal with repeat offenders.

“By the time a resident in a community knows that that person is a cancer in that community, we ought to make sure that we’ve got the teeth to deal with it,” Merriweather said.

Sheriff Garry McFadden

It was a heated back and forth between Republican lawmakers and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden that stole the show.

“I am the elephant in the room, but I’m the proud elephant in the room,” Sheriff McFadden said.

The sheriff was grilled on how he runs his jail, works or doesn’t work with ICE, and allegations on how he treats his staff. The latter of which McFadden would not answer questions about because of an ongoing state investigation.

“I’ve heard you blame staff. I’ve heard you blame lobbyists. I’ve heard you blame the legislature. I have not heard you take responsibility for a single question that we have asked you today,” said Representative Allen Chesser.

Sheriff McFadden responded, saying he wants to work with the state in a more collaborative way.

“I want a better relationship to work with this body,” Sheriff McFadden said. “We need a better relationship working with this body.”

Mayor Vi Lyles, CMPD Chief Estella Patterson

NC House Oversight hearing on Charlotte safety held in Raleigh

If the sheriff was a grilling, the other Charlotte leaders were more of a slow simmer. Chairman Jones says he wants Charlotte in the news for good reasons and vowed to work with them.

A morning of fireworks was followed by an afternoon of respect. Charlotte officials vowed to work with state lawmakers on the city’s challenges.

“We are not perfect by any means,” Mayor Vi Lyles said.

The conversation ranged from the city’s preparation for the 2027 Military World Games to Chief Estella Patterson’s public safety goals and what she thinks of people blowing whistles at ICE.

“I don’t think it’s right, to heckle or interfere or to intervene in the work, the lawful work that police officers and law enforcement is doing,” the police chief said.

Public transportation safety

The conversation was generally friendly, but Chairman Jones questioned why CATS would spend more than $3 million on a marketing contract instead of investing more in public safety.

“We don’t want you making national news for the wrong reasons,” Chairman Jones said.

The city manager assured him that CATS has ramped up security measures and lawmakers seemed generally pleased with what they heard.

The day started out with Representative Jones calling out incompetence, but one of his committee members says he didn’t see any of that.

“I just didn’t see any evidence that the leadership and public safety officials in Mecklenburg County are incompetent,” Representative Eric Ager said.

Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle was not asked any questions. State lawmakers also did not ask them any questions about Iryna Zarutska.

VIDEO: Hearing over public safety in Charlotte pushed back to February