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Faced with new allegations in a court petition that alleges his behavior is so abusive he should be removed from office, Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden told the press on Tuesday that the claims are ‘lies’ and said he welcomed a State Bureau of Investigation review.
“The petition is nothing but a smear campaign designed just before the election,” McFadden said at the Valerie C. Woodard Community Resource Center prior to a forum on juvenile detention. “It is filled with lies and we welcome the investigation and we respect the investigation that will be occurring.”
But beyond that, McFadden said he’d have no further comment, and he slowly backed away as reporters asked further questions.
State Rep. Carla Cunningham, former Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Kevin Canty and three other former Sheriff’s Office employees filed a petition to remove McFadden from office in Mecklenburg County Superior Court on Monday.
District Attorney Spencer Merriweather on Monday also asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate the petitioners’ claims, including looking into whether McFadden committed any crime. The SBI confirmed its professional standards unit would look into them.
Cunningham accused McFadden of threatening her in a phone call, while other allegations in the court petition allege that he retaliated against employees, utilized county employees to illegally work on his campaign website, and made deputies on duty drive officials to bars and strip clubs.
Canty, a former special agent in charge of the SBI’s Charlotte region office, resigned from the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office in November 2024 and issued a letter then alleging that McFadden abused his powers.
McFadden faces three challengers in the March Democratic primary: former Chief Deputy Rodney Collins, former Detention Officer Antwain Nance and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sgt. Ricky Robbins.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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Ryan Oehrli
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