DURHAM POLICE CHIEF
ON THE HOT SEAT FOR
ANTI-CHARLIE KIRK POST
By Cash Michaels
The Durham City Council last week refused to punished Police Chief Patrice Andrews after calls for her removal in the wake of her now-deleted social media post criticizing slain conservative activist, podcaster and Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk for his previous negative remarks about prominent black women.
Political conservatives in the Durham community have called for Chief Andrews to be fired, saying that as a city official, she represents all of Durham’s citizenry, and should not be allowed to express "divisive" comments.
The NC Sheriff Police Alliance has also criticized Andrews.
The council, led by Mayor Leonardo Williams, expressed support for Chief Andrews, however. Mayor Williams said he personally spoke with Chief Andrews about what she wrote on Facebook.
Andrews, a Black woman, criticized Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah on Sept. 10th during an appearance at Utah Valley University there. A suspect is now in custody.
“I won't stop being outraged at the way this man is being honored by people that I thought I knew,” Andrews wrote. “This man, who disguised himself as a Christian, shamed Black women like me, believed that gun violence was necessary to preserve the 2nd amendment, and created a culture of divisiveness through hate speech."
In the past, Kirk has specifically bashed political commentator Joy Reid, former First Lady Michelle Obama, the late Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as not having “brain processing power to otherwise be taken seriously,” a statement many critics deemed as racist.
He added that those black women were “affirmative action picks” who had to “go steal a white person’s slot to be taken somewhat seriously.”
During a 2023 podcast, Kirk is heard to say, “If I'm dealing with somebody in customer service who's a moronic Black woman, I don't -- I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action? It almost creates thought patterns that are not necessarily wholesome. It creates resentment, doesn't it? This is not a way to design society.”
He also said that if he got on a plane, and saw that the pilot was black, that that would concern him, a not-so veiled slam at DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies. Kirk also called passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a “mistake.”
In a statement, the city of Durham noted that Chief Andrews' social media post was being reviewed, but so far, there is no indication that she broke any city employee policies.
She wrote the anti-Charlie Kirk post on her own personal Facebook page on her own personal time, which according to city policy, is allowed.
Only the Durham city manager has the power to terminate Chief Andrews, who has led the police department there since 2021, but there’s no indication of that happening.
“We cannot be selective on who gets to exercise the First Amendment,” Mayor Williams said.
“I have been in the hot seat myself several times speaking in my own capacity. I will say that we as public servants, we do have to be aware of the impact of our verbiage whether it’s in our personal capacity or not. We are human and sometimes we make that mistake.”
“I spoke to [Andrews] personally and her intent was not to create outrage. It was her expressing her personal views within her own personal network. However, she’s the chief of police and it affects the residents of Durham if they’re interpreting it as such.”
“The First Amendment, freedom of speech, is accessible to us all, whether we like each other or not. It is for all of us, “ Mayor Williams continued. “You cannot be selectively outraged and try to determine who gets access to that or not.”
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REPUBLICANS SEEK TO
TOUGHEN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
LAWS IN WAKE OF CHARLOTTE
FATAL STABBING
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Republicans are moving quickly to address issues surrounding the August 22nd Charlotte light rail slaying of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, allegedly by a 34-year-old homeless man who has a history of mental illness, and was also released by a judge from jail for a misdemeanor offense without bond, thus allowing him allegedly to commit the crime.
The surveillance video of the murder of Iryna Zarutska shocked the nation, prompting Republican state lawmakers, and even President Donald Trump, to point fingers at Charlotte Democratic officials, as well as the judge who legally released homeless suspect DeCarlos Brown, Jr from jail.
In reaction to the case, Republican state Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby announced last week the formation of a task force to review how North Carolina’s criminal justice system currently deals with pre-trial release for criminal defendants.
“In administering justice, public safety is of the utmost concern,” Newby wrote. “When our citizens feel safe, they thrive physically, relationally, economically, and spiritually. It is my priority to ensure that we, as a judicial branch, execute our responsibilities well and strive continuously to improve our efforts to administer justice.”
Now that the NC legislature has come back from a summer break this week, Republican legislative leaders are advancing an omnibus crime bill they say will toughen North Carolina’s criminal justice system, with measures that include doing away with the cash bail system and reinstitution the death penalty.
The leaders posted the 17-page omnibus crime legislation to the NC General Assembly’s website Sunday night, proposing a host of changes to state laws already on the books. If passed, judges and magistrates would be further restricted in who is eligible for pretrial release.
Named “Iryna’s Law” in honor of the August 22nd Charlotte stabbing victim, the bill would allow people with violent felonies on their criminal records to only be released on secured bonds, which would first require a certain bail amount paid.
DeCarlos Brown Jr., the Charlotte stabbing suspect, had an armed robbery conviction on his record before being released only on a written promise last January to return to court for his misdemeanor charge.
The bill also would require judges to order mental health evaluations for people charged with violent criminal offenses and have been involuntarily committed within the past three years.
Judges would also be able to order mental health evaluations for people charged with any kind of offense if they are deemed “a danger to themselves or others.” That requirement could result in that person being involuntarily committed.
The Republican crime bill also seeks to jump-start the death penalty in North Carolina. The law is still on the books, but hasn’t been carried out since a legal moratorium imposed in 2006.
The crime bill was passed by the NC Senate Monday night, and then sent over to the state House, which passed the measure on Tuesday. The bill is now being sent to Governor Stein for his signature.
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