Mecklenburg County sheriff accuses DHHS of giving ‘unfair’ jail reports

CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is making quite a few claims against the North Carolina State Department of Health and Human Services.

McFadden alleged Wednesday morning that the department targeted his office unfairly with negative jail reports.

The claims came as the Mecklenburg County Detention Center in Uptown, known as Jail Central, has been hit with multiple negative inspections following the deaths of inmates in recent years. At least four people have died in just the last five months while in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

McFadden said the NCDHHS gave the jail a negative report not because of those inmate deaths, but due to McFadden’s race and political views.

“Why me? Why now? Why only now? And we can say this. Because I’m an African American sheriff,” the sheriff said.

“Legislators and politicians said, ‘We have to make them do whatever we need to do to make them listen,’” he went on to say. “The woke sheriffs. That’s what they call us.”

McFadden claimed jail inspectors from NCDHHS use unfair practices and procedures. He alleged one of the inspectors lied about a new process for requesting jail reports.

“A person admitted to me, my staff, and in front of my lawyers: ‘I lied, I lied.’ That is a statement that I’ll never forget inside my detention center,” McFadden said. “So how can we trust whatever report they put out there? Do they need to be investigated? Absolutely.”

Channel 9 reached out to NCDHHS regarding the allegations. In a statement, the department said the following: “Ensuring that jails operate within state law and rules is a shared responsibility between county sheriffs and the NCDHHS’ Division of Health Service Regulation. NCDHHS staff are professional and experienced in doing these surveys for facilities across the state, and we have confidence in our team. We take all concerns raised by those we serve seriously and will review them appropriately.”

According to North Carolina’s Death in Custody report, 41 people died statewide in the custody of local law enforcement in all of 2022. At least four people died in Mecklenburg County just since this past December. But McFadden said that’s not because of his deputies.

“Our deaths inside of our detention center are sometimes caused because of suicide, but mainly because of poor health,” the sheriff said. “We screen the people the best as we can coming in. But it’s poor health.”

Channel 9 has asked the sheriff’s office for the inspection reports McFadden is upset about.

One of the purposes of the NCDHHS inspections is to make sure the jail is properly checking on its inmates. McFadden claims the process for that inspection is unfair.

Channel 9 hopes to get a better understanding once we get the reports, which we’ve asked for from both the sheriff and NCDHHS.

VIDEO: Inmate dies after medical emergency at Meck County jail

Inmate dies after medical emergency at Meck County jail

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