CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A woman who was fired by Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is speaking out claiming he abuses his power and retaliated against her because she wouldn’t “doctor” documents that are public record.
This all started with the former chief deputy resigning on Nov. 1, calling the sheriff’s office a “third-world dictatorship.”
Then old recordings resurfaced where McFadden is accused of using racially charged language, and then two workers were fired.
Back in March, Dr. Angelia Riggsbee was excited to take on her new role as director of business operations working for McFadden’s operation.
“He told me he was glad to have me that, you know, she’s going to be doing things her way, give her time to learn her job. She’s not the previous person. She’s going to be doing things her way,” said Riggsbee describing what the sheriff told her.
But soon after that, Riggsbee claims it was the sheriff’s way or the highway, and if she pushed back, the sheriff did too.
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“In your mind, it was clear retaliation?” asked Queen City News Anchor Robin Kanady.
“Oh, absolutely. Absolutely,” said Riggsbee. “The retaliation started in June, really in June. That was my first hint of it when at that women’s conference, when his wife said, ‘Oh, this is a safe space.’ And I opened up and just asked a question and the next thing I know, I’m getting called into a one-on-one meeting with him.”
Fast-forward to late last summer, and Riggsbee says that’s when the Charlotte Observer requested McFadden’s travel expenses. She attached a document that showed he spent $33,000 in a roughly 18-month period.
Riggsbee then got a reply back from the sheriff’s executive assistant saying “he,” meaning the sheriff “doesn’t want to submit it.”
Soon after, Riggsbee says the assistant called her.
“She said, ‘McFadden does not want that report to go, it’s too much information, it’s too much detail. He doesn’t want that information to go,’” said Riggsbee. “I said, ‘Okay, well you guys can make whatever changes you need to.’ She said, ‘No, McFadden said get Riggsbee to do it — his exact words. Get Riggsbee to do it.’ I said, ‘Riggsbee’s not going to do it,’ I said, ‘because I’ve been in this business and I’ve been in this career, this line of work, for over 30 years. I don’t doctor, I don’t modify financial records, especially when it’s an official request for records. I’m not going to do that. I don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
The sheriff’s office responded to the claim that the sheriff wanted Riggsbee to doctor the documents saying the sheriff wanted a different format and more details on the travel expense documents and that all the expenses were submitted to the media.
Riggsbee doesn’t believe that at all and says she was fired because she wasn’t a “yes man” for McFadden.
“After that day, it was war,” Riggsbee explained. “He was after me. He was determined. He did not want me there.”
She says she didn’t leave during all the controversy because of her co-workers and her immediate supervisor, then-Chief Deputy Kevin Canty.
She felt they all had her back, but the sheriff did not. She got her termination letter on Wednesday.
“He abuses his authority and his power,” said Riggsbee. “Any time a person will sit there and tell you, ‘I can do whatever I want. The sheriff can do whatever they want. My name is on the door. Sue me. The county is going to pay for it. It’s not my money.’”
On Thursday, QCN spoke with former Chief Deputy Canty, Riggsbee’s supervisor.
He said the sheriff wanted him to be his hatchet man and fire Riggsbee and the human resources director, but Canty refused because he didn’t believe there was any reason to fire them.
The HR director was also let go by the sheriff after Canty resigned.
