Tribal Council explores possibility of elected police chief

fr cherokeepoliceThere’s talk in Cherokee of making the chief of police’s job an elected position following a resolution introduced by Travis Smith, a Birdtown resident who’s also a candidate for Tribal Council.

Franklin officers return to work after deadly shooting

law enforcementTwo officers with the Franklin Police Department are back on duty while the N.C. State Bureau of Investigations continues to look into a deadly shooting involving the officers.

Man dead after taking shots at Franklin officers

fr maconshootingThe North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is conducting an investigation after a man was killed during a June 30 altercation with two Franklin police officers.

Sylva’s police sensitive to national conversation

Sylva Commissioner Danny Allen had a question. He’d been watching what was happening with the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York, where police-involved fatalities of black men have led to civil unrest, and wondered about his own home. 

“I wonder,” Allen asked during a recent Sylva Town board meeting, “if the police have gone through any kind of ethnic sensitivity training to handle such things?”

Sheriff candidate fired from Sylva police force

Jackson County sheriff candidate Curtis Lambert no longer has a job with the Sylva Police Department, but he says his firing last week isn’t throwing cold water on his campaign. 

Law enforcement lobbies for speedy, dependable fleets

fr policecarsEquipment replacement schedules were some of the first line items on the chopping block for local governments when the economy tanked.

Passel of new patrol cars on Waynesville’s shopping list

The town of Waynesville plans to buy 15 new police cars in the coming year for $500,000, a move that will assign each officer their own vehicle instead of having to share.

How much policing is too much? Maggie leaders try to strike balance

fr maggiepoliceIt was Groundhog Day again for the Maggie Valley Police Department.

Last year, Police Chief Scott Sutton defended his department and officers against claims that the force is too large and its budget should be slashed. This year was no different.

Multi-agency busts net 60 arrests

Law enforcement agencies in Western North Carolina are cracking down on drug use in the region.

Police targeted by sweepstakes industry suits

fr sweepstakesFor law enforcement, video gambling is like a bad case of poison ivy that keeps cropping back up all over the place, and now, it’s going after them.

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