MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office has undergone dramatic staffing changes and the Sheriff himself issued an apology Thursday after leaked racially-charged audio and the sudden departure of his chief deputy this month.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office confirmed two top staffers, Human Resources Director Rudyne A. Pearson, and Business Manager Dr. Angela Riggsbee were both terminated this past week.
Pearson had been with the department since Nov. 18, 2019, and had been reclassified as the HR director on Feb. 7, 2024. She was terminated on Nov. 7, 2024. Riggsbee joined the department on March 20, 2024, and was terminated on Nov. 13, 2024, the sheriff’s office confirmed.
“Wanted me to be his ‘hatchet man.'”
The two recent firings come on the heels of former Chief Deputy Kevin Canty who resigned earlier this month from the department, accusing Sheriff McFadden of “running the agency into the ground” and that it “functions like a third-world dictatorship.”
In a one-on-one interview with Canty on Thursday, he told QCN McFadden wanted him to be his “hatchet man” and fire both Pearson and Riggsbee. Canty told QCN he didn’t agree with letting them both go, stating there wasn’t any reason to fire them, so “he wouldn’t.”
The Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office confirmed with QCN that both Pearson and Riggsbee reported to Canty at the time of their employment.
Canty provided audio from an anonymous whistleblower to QCN on Thursday, in which Canty says Sheriff McFadden could be heard saying racially charged comments, including, “But that captain, that white, cracker captain, is better than the other seven captains upstairs.”
At this time, it’s unclear the exact timeline of when the audio clips were recorded.
NC Sheriffs’ Association condemns comments
Since the recently released audio, the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association issued a letter condemning McFadden’s comments, calling them, “inflammatory, racially derogatory, insulting, and offensive.”
“The Association believes sheriffs are and should continue to be held to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, principles, and morals and should serve their communities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. Racially charged comments certainly do not meet those standards,” the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association said in the letter.
The NC Carolina Sheriffs’ Association released a new letter on Thursday, Nov. 14, stating they met with Sheriff McFadden to discuss the racially charged comments. In that meeting, they said the Executive Committee “expressed their displeasure with those comments and made it clear that those comments do not represent the views of the sheriffs of North Carolina.”
Sheriff McFadden, both in that meeting and publicly, issued an apology.
Sheriff issues public apology
“This is Sheriff Garry McFadden with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. Today I’m going to take a few minutes to talk to you about the language and the issues that have been in the media. It doesn’t matter who recorded or how many years ago it was recorded, today I want to apologize for that language,” McFadden says in the video released on Thursday. “Held to a higher standard. That’s the office of the sheriff. But you must understand that I am human, I’m not perfect, and I will make mistakes. The interviews, the interviews will come because they have the luxury to talk openly and freely but by law, I am not, because I am bound by law, and I can’t speak openly and freely.”
McFadden went on to say, “I’m still committed to this community. I’m still committed to the residents in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, and I’m still committed to my staff.”
In the video, McFadden said he wants the public to be “patient with him,” as he runs the largest sheriff’s office in the State of North Carolina and one of the largest detention centers.
Staffing shakeup
In conjunction with the apology video on Thursday, the sheriff’s office announced the following staffing changes:
- Christopher Allen has been appointed as Interim Chief Deputy. Allen joined MCSO from the Union County Sheriff’s Office this year and has served as Chief of Staff.
- Shelby Jones is now MCSO’s Chief of Staff. Jones was the Sheriff’s first hire upon taking office in 2018, serving as his Executive Assistant since that time.
- Shanta Williams will serve as Interim Director of Human Resources while the agency conducts a search for a permanent HR Director. Williams has been with MCSO for almost 25 years.
- Andrey Melkonyan has been promoted to Director of Business Operations. Melkonyan, who was hired in 2008, has previously served as Accounting Supervisor.
Questions still linger regarding McFadden’s future with the department amid backlash and the staffing shakeup.
