Sheriff Garry McFadden is expected to testify on the agency’s “failures,” NC Rep. Brendan Jones said on X.
RALEIGH, N.C. โ The North Carolina House Oversight Committee has requested Sheriff Garry McFadden to Raleighย to testify on the sheriff’s office’s role in public safety in Charlotte.ย
In a letter sent to the sheriff, Reps Jake Johnson, Brendan Jones and Harry Warden are expecting McFadden to discuss the sheriff’s office in regard to public safety in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, strategic plans and spending.ย
This comes after two stabbings on the light rail, one deadly, in the past five months.ย
The stabbing of Iryna Zarutska made national headlines and put the City of Charlotte under a microscope when it came to violent crime and public safety. Zarutska was allegedly stabbed by a man with a history of mental health issues and a criminal record.ย
Her death sparked political backlash and questions into the city’s and state’s criminal justice system, including comment from Donald Trump.ย
A bipartisan effort pushedย Iryna’s Law through, ending the written promise to appear options for certain violent offenders and mandating that judges order mental health evaluations in specific cases, which McFadden has criticizedย due to overcrowding in county jail, short staffing and mental health care needs among those incarcerated.ย
Another stabbingย on the light rail put one man in the hospital just four months after the death of Zarutska. This led to another uproar in public safety concerns since the alleged stabber is undocumented and also has a criminal history. The stabbing came two weeks after Border Patrol agents began operating in Charlotte and detained hundreds of people, including citizens.ย
Sheriff McFadden is expected in Raleigh on Thursday, Jan. 22.ย
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