Turmoil at Sheriff’s Office with slurs and staff shakeups

MECKLENBURG COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden released a video on Nov. 14 apologizing for racially inflammatory statements he made about department employees. The Sheriff’s Office has undergone major staff changes in the last month with resignation of Chief Deputy Kevin Canty in October and firing human resources director Rudyne Pearson and business operations director Angelia Riggsbee earlier this month.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is making changes to the agency’s leadership while apologizing for racially inflammatory statements about department employees.

McFadden apologized on Nov. 14 in a prerecorded video for racially charged language he used in an audio recording obtained by WBTV earlier this month.

“It doesn’t matter who recorded or how many years ago it was recorded, today I want to apologize for that language,” McFadden said in the video. “Held to a higher standard, that’s the office of the sheriff. But you must understand that I am human, and I am not perfect, and I will make mistakes.”

In the recording, McFadden can be heard using bigoted language in describing Black and white people on his executive staff. He called a white captain a “cracker,” and an epithet to describe former chief deputy Rodney Collins, who is Black.

The North Carolina Sheriffs Association, which represents the state’s 100 sheriffs, issued a statement condemning McFadden’s language, adding that its executive committee voted to inquire into his conduct. 

McFadden fired two executive staff members – human resources director Rudyne Pearson, a five-year employee of the Sheriff’s Office, and business operations director Angelia Riggsbee earlier this month. Riggsbee was hired in March.

Both women who were terminated reported directly to Chief Deputy Kevin Canty, who resigned in October with a letter accusing McFadden of fostering a toxic work environment. In an interview with WBTV, Canty said McFadden pushed him to fire Riggsbee but Canty refused, telling McFadden it was without merit.

“He told me that I could recommend it, which of course he doesn’t need that to fire anyone,” Canty told the station. “He was wanting me to be his hatchet man and to use me as a scapegoat to treat people unfairly.”

McFadden announced a series of appointments, including Christopher Allen as interim chief deputy and Shelby Jones as chief of staff.

“I am confident these leadership changes will bring the vision, integrity, and experience that’s needed to help the agency move forward,” McFadden said. “MCSO is poised to make significant strides for the future of our agency and the communities we serve. This is the beginning of a new chapter we will all work together to write.”

The staff additions are effective immediately.

Allen, who joined MCSO from the Union County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year, was chief of staff. He has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience.

Jones was McFadden’s first hire upon taking office in 2018 as executive assistant.

Shanta Williams is the new interim director of human resources while the agency conducts a search for a permanent director. Williams, who has been the Sheriff’s Office for almost 25 years, started as a fiscal analyst in business management and most recently was a human resources consultant.

Andrey Melkonyan was promoted to director of business operations. Melkonyan, who was hired in 2008, was accounting supervisor.

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