News

Griffin challenges sheriff on crime stats, training center

By Bill Moss, Published: October 6, 2017

Lowell Griffin, who is running for the Republican nomination for sheriff, rebutted some of Sheriff Charlie McDonald’s claims about crime reduction and questioned the need for a $20 million indoor training center.

“The incredible number that stands out is either 42 or 47 percent depending on the meeting you have attended,” Griffin said in a statement. “Any reduction in crime that dramatic would have law enforcement agency heads from across the country visiting to learn how this was accomplished. A reduction in this type of crime would mean the caseload for investigations would be reduced nearly the same 50 percent. Sounds like he could have reassigned detectives if this was actually the case instead of asking for additional personnel.”
Griffin, a captain in the Polk County sheriff’s office, said that as a law enforcement instructor, “I completely understand the need for training and more training.” The proposed training center, he added, “is a facility for marksmanship training that offers little to nothing in the way of training for real world encounters. There is no provision for training in the elements, moving and shooting in multiple directions, practicing proper cover and concealment techniques on a tactical approach, etc. As a matter of fact, it offers no more than the current indoor range at the Western North Carolina Justice Academy offers other than longer shooting lanes. This proposal comes with an extravagant price tag and will not meet the needs of the officers.”
Griffin, one of about eight officers that McDonald sacked after his election in November 2014, vowed to shield deputies from campaign politics.
“I have a plan that I will reveal that will provide increased job security for the employees,” he said. “Henderson County deserves officers that are not afraid to do their job for fear of political reprisal. I envision officers’ productivity increasing as officers feel secure in their careers as they no longer are forced to combine the stresses of the job with political pressures from within.”