Sheriff candidates outline priorities, experience at Lake Gaston forum

LITTLETON — Four candidates seeking the office of sheriff in Halifax and Northampton counties discussed their experience, law enforcement presence in the Lake Gaston area, recruitment and retention, public records, immigration enforcement and other issues during a candidate forum held Sept. 2 by the Lake Gaston Association. Halifax County Sheriff Tyree Davis and challenger Tracy Story joined Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith and challenger Tony Burnette for the forum at Lake Gaston Baptist Church. The forum was moderated by Jim Nystrom, chairman of the LGA Community and Government Relations Committee, who said the event was intended to be a forum rather than a debate and give residents an opportunity to learn more about the candidates. Candidates were initially given up to five minutes to answer each prepared question before the forum was opened to questions from the audience. Qualifications Burnette pointed to more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, his military service and his work as Northampton County's emergency management director before retiring last year. He has also served as police chief in Seaboard and Rich Square. 'My thing has always been is having a servant heart, working for the people that I serve,' Burnette said. 'I care. I ran for this position four years ago. The thing of it is, I didn't quit. I care about our citizens.' Burnette said his experience in emergency management included establishing Northampton County's first search and rescue team and working with the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration and Homeland Security. 'One thing I always wanted to make sure that we are prepared here in Northampton County for whatever might come our way,' Burnette said. 'So I bring that experience to this job with emergency management and law enforcement. So whatever comes our way, I am fully equipped to handle it.' Davis said he began his law enforcement career with the Halifax County Sheriff's Office in 2003, working patrol before moving into narcotics and investigations. Davis later became captain of the Enfield Police Department and then police chief. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in public administration before serving as Enfield's town manager. He was later elected sheriff. 'This is what I know. This is what I love,' Davis said. Davis said his administration focuses on being 'fair, firm and consistent' while treating people professionally and respectfully. 'We will help you change your tire outside of this church, and I will arrest you as soon as you mess up because that's just what we do,' Davis said. Davis said that approach applies regardless of a person's relationship with him, recalling that he once arrested his own brother. 'He chose that side of the law. I chose this side of the law,' Davis said. 'So I don't care who you are. I don't care what your position is. I don't care how close you feel like you are to me.' Smith pointed to 54 years in law enforcement and public service, including service in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Smith began his law enforcement career in 1972 and later became one of the first Black state troopers in eastern North Carolina. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant and said he supervised approximately 240 troopers. 'You have to be prepared to manage people because when you have 240 young men and women, they always present some type of situation or problem throughout the week and throughout the years,' Smith said. Smith also pointed to his experience as sheriff and his service on the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission. Story said he agreed that experience matters but argued that his more than 30 years of executive and business experience has prepared him to lead the Halifax County Sheriff's Office. 'I have over 30 years of executive experience,' Story said. 'I have run businesses, owned businesses. I have employees. I have a very valid and effective nonprofit called The Rewritten Story Foundation.' Story acknowledged he does not have the law enforcement background of the other candidates but said leadership should not be measured solely by wearing a uniform. 'In my opinion, leadership isn't measured by the uniform you wear,' Story said. 'It's measured by your heart. It's measured by how you lead people and how you can be effective and get things done.' Story said some of his priorities include unsolved cases, community watch programs, Crime Stoppers and addressing mental health and substance abuse. 'I want to speak for the victims. I want to speak for the families,' Story said. 'That's one of the biggest things I want to see achieved in Halifax County, is answers for those who were not able to get answers. I want to see these unsolved cases solved.' Lake Gaston coverage When candidates were asked about their priorities for the Lake Gaston area, Burnette said he wants a larger Northampton County Sheriff's Office presence and would establish a substation. 'I believe in boots on the ground,' Burnette said. 'What does that mean to me? Boots on the ground, meaning that we're out here. We're building a relationship with you. If you live in Northampton County, I want you to know who your sheriff is. I want you to see your sheriff and be able to speak to him.' Burnette said he helped establish substations in Woodland and Seaboard and would like to do the same in the Lake Gaston area. 'I want to see a bigger footprint here in Lake Gaston from the Northampton County Sheriff's Office, being a substation right here in your community with a deputy there,' Burnette said. He said recruitment and retention would be important to making that possible. 'If you pick up that phone and you dial 911, someone is breaking into your house, you don't want any excuses about how many people you had working for you,' Burnette said. 'You need somebody there before that person makes entry.' Davis said the Halifax County Sheriff's Office already assigns deputies to the Lake Gaston area. 'We have four squads. There's seven people on each squad, and we're fully staffed,' Davis said. 'We already have deputies assigned to the Lake Gaston area on every squad, so you should have already seen our patrol cars riding through your communities.' Davis said technology also allows deputies to complete more of their work from their patrol vehicles rather than returning to Halifax. 'We're in 2026,' Davis said. 'Maybe you had to do that in, you know, 1998 or 2025, but we have computers in our cars now. We print stuff from our car. We pull warrants. When I first started law enforcement, they gave you your warrant, and you go and look for Tony, and everything gets with this warrant, and you had to have it in your hand, and part of the law was you had to have it with you in order to serve it. Now everything is electronic, so you don't have to go back and forth to Halifax for hardly anything when it comes to it.' Davis also discussed preventing vehicle break-ins and thefts from construction sites and educating senior citizens about scams. 'We have a lot of seniors that live here on the lake,' Davis said. 'A lot of you are vulnerable to scams, and we try to educate the seniors, and we try to push stuff out on social media and with our local media to let folks know what scams and stuff are going around.' Smith said distance presents a challenge for Northampton County because Lake Gaston is approximately 40 minutes from the county seat in Jackson. Smith said the sheriff's office was about five deputies short of being fully staffed and has two deputies assigned to the western portion of the county and two to the eastern portion. He said deputies must balance patrol duties with responsibilities including serving warrants and transporting people experiencing mental health crises. 'To say you can put someone here and leave them here 100% of the time is almost impossible to do,' Smith said. 'But what we do, you have to balance it and keep as many deputies up as much as you can, and keep them serving you guys.' Smith said the sheriff's office also has a boat used for patrol on Lake Gaston. 'One of the things is to be seen on the lake,' Smith said. 'It gives them a sense of security to see that their sheriff's office boat is patrolling on Lake Gaston.' Smith also acknowledged the tax base represented by Lake Gaston residents. 'We love Lake Gaston because, in all honesty, Lake Gaston pays a heck of a lot of taxes,' Smith said. 'They do, and I recognize that.' Story said he would establish a Halifax County Sheriff's Office substation in the Littleton and Lake Gaston area. 'We need a substation in the Littleton and the Lake Gaston area for Halifax County,' Story said. 'It's on one of the furthest ends of the county. You're talking about response time. Response time is massive. Things can happen in minutes. We need better response times.' Story said county-owned property could potentially be used for the substation, reducing the expense, and said deputies, investigators and narcotics officers could use the facility while working in the area. 'I'm not saying that cars fix things, but having people here, having those vehicles where they can be seen, that is all about presence,' Story said. 'And this particular area needs an additional set of presence.' Story also said he wants greater use of Crime Watch, Crime Stoppers, Business Watch, Church Watch and School Watch programs. 'Presence is where it's at,' Story said. 'If you're being seen, something's being done, and that's what we need.' Public records The candidates were asked about public records after an audience member said she had submitted a request earlier in the year but had not received the information. Smith said some information cannot be released under state law and other records may have to be reviewed or redacted. However, Smith said that if the information can legally be released, the requester should receive it. 'If you request something, and there's something that we can release, you should have gotten it,' Smith said. After the woman said she was confident the requested information was public and did not concern an ongoing investigation, Smith responded, 'Then it should have been released.' Story said public records requests are also a matter of customer service. 'I believe in customer service,' Story said. 'That's how I've built my reputation over 30-plus years. I believe in we work for the citizens. We work for you guys. Tax dollars pay our salary.' Even if information cannot be released, Story said the requester should receive an answer explaining why. 'You should get something in some form or fashion, and it should be done in a very reasonable amount of time,' Story said. Davis said public records requests involving his office are reviewed by the county attorney to determine what can legally be released. 'Whatever agency you submitted it to, reach out to the administrator of that office so they will know too,' Davis said. Davis said administrators also need to know if a request has not been handled so they can hold employees accountable. Burnette told the audience member that communication and follow-up are important. 'You matter,' Burnette said. 'Tracy hit it on the head with customer service. It's so important, especially now in the day and time in which we live, that we are communicating back with our public.' Burnette said legally releasable information should be provided and said he would want a resident to contact him directly if a request was not being addressed. 'If it can be out there, it should be out there, and you should have it,' Burnette said. The candidates were also asked about having a tracking system for public records requests. Burnette said such a system would improve accountability, while Story said requesters should receive a number or other confirmation allowing them to follow the request. Smith said the amount and type of information being sought can affect the time needed to fulfill a request, particularly when records require redactions. Davis said his office tries to honor public records requests as quickly as possible. Recruitment and retention Recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers also drew differing responses from the candidates. Burnette said recruitment begins with the leadership and reputation of an agency. 'Word of mouth is everything,' Burnette said. 'How we respond to calls, how we interact with people and what we're doing.' Burnette said he would recruit through colleges, promote the agency through its employees and establish recognition programs. 'It all starts with me, the leader, that I'm caring, that I'm active, that I'm involved and that my community sees me,' Burnette said. Davis said leadership matters, but compensation is a major part of recruiting and retaining deputies. 'When you're the lowest-paid agency in your county, why stay with the sheriff's office and get in fights and get shot at and everything else when you can go to Roanoke Rapids PD and get shot at and fight and make $10,000 more a year, and you don't have to move?' Davis said. Davis said the Halifax County commissioners, over a period of time, gave the sheriff's office a 15% pay increase. 'That took us from being last on the list out of seven municipalities in our county to now we're number three,' Davis said. 'I had four people come back to the sheriff's office as soon as we got that raise to come there because now they can take care of their family.' Davis said the sheriff's office had 11 vacancies before the increase and now has four. 'I love being a sheriff, but if I hit the lottery tomorrow, they're gonna file a missing person,' Davis said. 'It's about money and what you love.' Davis said no sheriff's office in the state has a waiting list of applicants and argued that even a good work environment cannot eliminate turnover. 'So yes, you have to love what you do and love your community, but you have to get them the resources,' Davis said. Davis said those resources extend beyond salaries to equipment and training. 'You have to get them the tools. You have to get the equipment,' Davis said. 'You have to do that for them to get them and keep them. And if you don't, another agency will.' Smith agreed that leadership is important but said salary has become increasingly important to law enforcement officers. 'In the real world today, people will go where the money is,' Smith said. Smith said deputies can leave rural agencies for significantly higher salaries elsewhere while performing essentially the same work. 'It's about leadership. Sure, that's extremely important,' Smith said. 'But money today to these young people, they look at it totally different from what we did, and they'll leave you for $1,000 more per year.' Story said turnover can often be traced to leadership and said he wants employees to view the sheriff's office as a team. 'Most of the time, when you have a department or an office that has high turnover, it's leadership, 100%,' Story said. Story said he would like to develop a reputation that makes people want to work for the Halifax County Sheriff's Office even if it cannot offer the highest salaries. 'I want a waiting list,' Story said. 'I want people who are striving to be a part of our office, not because we're the highest paid, because I doubt that'll ever happen, but because they want to be a part of something special.' Story also proposed working with community colleges to provide educational opportunities and establishing deputy of the month and deputy of the year recognition. ICE cooperation The candidates were asked by an audience member whether they would cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Davis said North Carolina law requires sheriffs to cooperate with ICE. 'We are ordered through legislation to work with ICE, and if we do not work with ICE, then we will be removed as sheriff for not working with ICE,' Davis said. Davis said federal immigration agents do not necessarily notify local sheriffs before conducting operations within their counties. 'If ICE agents come in our county and they're screaming for help on the radio, we're going to help them just like we'll help any other citizen when it comes to it,' Davis said. When asked directly whether he wanted to work with ICE, Davis said his priority is getting criminals off the streets regardless of whether that means treatment, incarceration, federal custody or deportation. 'I want any criminal that comes in my county off our streets, whether that's in a rehab facility to get them help with mental illness or drugs, whether it's in a jail to keep them off our streets from being criminal, or whether it's in federal custody, or whether it's being deported,' Davis said. Story said he would cooperate with ICE and other law enforcement agencies. 'I will work with ICE,' Story said. 'I will work with any agency that is going out to arrest criminals. Why would I be treated any different? What happens if I go to Canada illegally? What's going to happen to me? Why should anyone else be treated differently?' Story said he views the issue as one of following the law. 'It's not about color. It's not about creed. It's not about religion. It's not about politics. It's about right and wrong,' Story said. Smith said sheriffs are required to cooperate with ICE and said he would continue to follow state, federal and local law. 'I always try to follow what the state law is in the state of North Carolina, as well as the federal law and local law as well,' Smith said. Burnette also said he would cooperate with ICE and emphasized partnerships among law enforcement agencies. 'Absolutely, we're going to follow the law, and we are going to work with ICE,' Burnette said. 'We want to make sure that we are partnering with all of our federal agencies and our state agencies and local agencies to make things happen, especially in small counties like ours.' Closing remarks Story asked Halifax County voters to consider whether they are satisfied with the current direction of the county. 'Are you happy with where we are now? Do you think we can do better? I absolutely think we can,' Story said. Story said his candidacy is not personal against Davis and acknowledged Davis has considerably more law enforcement experience. 'He's got me on the law enforcement experience,' Story said. 'He absolutely does. I don't doubt that one bit.' Story said he believes his leadership experience and the people he would bring into the administration would allow him to lead the office. 'I have a plan,' Story said. 'I have over 100 years of men and women that I'm bringing with me. If we come, if we win, that will be a part of this.' Story said he would give the position everything he has. 'But at the end of the day, ask yourself that question: Are you happy where you are, and could we be better?' Story said. 'If he wins, you still got a great man. If I win, you get Tracy, and I'll give you everything I got.' Smith also emphasized his experience in his closing remarks. 'You can't replace experience,' Smith said. Smith said the responsibilities of being sheriff can make it difficult to spend as much time outside the office as people might expect because sheriffs deal with calls, courts, county commissioners, county managers and residents. 'But I stand before you to tell you that I'm here to serve you, and I'm here to serve this community,' Smith said. Smith announced the current campaign will be his last for sheriff regardless of the outcome. 'If you re-elect Jack Smith, you'll be getting a person — he may not be the smartest person in the world — but you'll never get a more honest person,' Smith said. 'You'll never get a person that's more dedicated to the job.' Smith said his 54 years in law enforcement demonstrate his commitment to the profession. 'You will not stay in law enforcement 54 years unless you love it, and I love what I do, and I'm asking you all to give me one more chance to finish out my career,' Smith said. Smith said regardless of how the election turns out, this will be his last time running. 'And however it goes, I'm gonna be OK,' he said. Smith also pointed to his nine years on the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission, where he said he helps make rules and regulations affecting sheriff's offices, dispatchers and detention operations throughout the state. Davis said he regularly tells people Halifax County has made progress but still has work ahead. 'People call me all the time, say, 'Sheriff, how's it going?' First thing I say is, 'We've come a long way, but we got a long way to go,'' Davis said. Davis said he and Story remain friends despite running against each other. 'At the end of the day, I'm gonna vote for me, and he's gonna vote for him,' Davis said. 'So we're gonna be tied, and it's up to the community to decide who they want after that.' Davis said he would continue running the agency to the best of his ability if reelected and would help Story if voters instead elect him. Davis then pointed to his administration's efforts to target people it considered among Halifax County's most dangerous offenders. 'When I started as the sheriff, I met with our team because our county was violent,' Davis said. 'We were having murders and shootings and stuff every week.' Davis said he initially asked his staff to identify 10 of the most dangerous people in the county so investigators could build cases against them. 'My goal was to get those 10 most dangerous people off of our streets,' Davis said. Davis said the effort has since grown beyond the original 10. 'I wanted to do 10 my first four years,' Davis said. 'Well, we're in the 40s now. We've targeted the dangerous of the dangerous in our county, and we're in the 40s. We're sending people to federal prison. That's what we do. That's what law enforcement officers do.' Davis also directly addressed the difference in experience between himself and Story. 'I could not do his job,' Davis said. 'I know nothing about the oil and tire business and being a mechanic and everything else.' Davis said he believes the reverse is also true and argued that a sheriff should have law enforcement training and experience. 'For me personally, I don't think he could do my job because you have to be a law enforcement officer,' Davis said. 'You need law enforcement knowledge when you contact your sheriff and your agency. How can I tell my deputies what to do when I don't even know what they're supposed to do?' Davis said North Carolina law does not require a sheriff to have completed Basic Law Enforcement Training but said he believes someone leading a law enforcement agency should understand the work being performed. 'I have the belief that in order to be the leader of a group, you have to know what that group is doing,' Davis said, 'and you can't trust somebody else to tell you because you don't know if they're telling you the truth.' Burnette closed by again pointing to more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, military service and his time as police chief in Seaboard and Rich Square. 'I've worked murder cases. I worked rape cases. I've worked missing cases. You name it, I've been there,' Burnette said. Burnette said he and Smith are friends but believes Northampton County is ready for a change. 'Question is, when do we turn the page?' Burnette said. 'It's OK to turn the page. I ran for this office four years ago, and just like Sheriff Smith said, we're friends. I feel that I can do the job better. I have the experience. I have the knowledge. I have the drive.' Burnette described his platform as community policing, proactive law enforcement and communication. 'My platform is simple: community policing, meaning that we're in your community, that we're working with you, crime watches and everything else to make it a little bit better,' Burnette said. Burnette also discussed his work in emergency management and establishing an emergency chaplain to help first responders deal with traumatic incidents. He said he would bring that same concern for employees to the sheriff's office. Burnette also said unresolved missing-person and homicide cases would remain a priority and that he would work with surrounding counties and Virginia. 'To every one of those cases, if they're missing, that's a family out there that's missing a loved one,' Burnette said. 'I would never stop thinking about it. It would be in my mind all of the time.' Burnette said he wants offenders responsible for serious crimes to know those cases will continue to be investigated. 'We will chase them to the end of the earth because that person had a right to live just like everybody else,' Burnette said. 'If you are a victim of a crime and you live in Northampton County, I want to fight for you,' Burnette said. 'I want to make sure that we're following up for you because you matter.'