Residents warn Curry County commissioners that sheriff’s staffing cuts threaten public safety

Michelle Martin, a Curry County resident, told the Board of Commissioners on Oct. 1 that recent staffing reductions at the Curry County Sheriff’s Office have “placed our community safety in jeopardy.” Martin said the cuts affect long‑serving personnel, naming Sergeant Gerard Gray and Sergeant Van Zelf, and described Gray’s role as a search‑and‑rescue coordinator who leads a volunteer team and manages forest and marine patrols.

“The impact of these cuts on dedicated professionals like Sergeant Gerard Gray and Sergeant Van Zelf cannot be understated,” Martin said. “To diminish their role or the significance of their contributions undermines the very fabric of our community safety.”

Martin also described the sheriff’s ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) investigator role and said the county’s personnel reductions jeopardize that investigative capacity. “Sergeant Van Zelf is the only investigator of Internet crimes against children,” she said. “His responsibilities extend far beyond mere supervision.”

Georgia Cockerham, another Curry County resident who spoke during public comment, echoed concerns about Sergeant Van Zelf. Cockerham said the sergeant was served notice in late June that his pay was reduced after his position was reclassified from sergeant to deputy, and that a grievance filed through the union found that the commissioners had violated the collective bargaining agreement and labor law. Cockerham said the county retained an outside law firm and that, earlier in September, the sergeant received notice his position would be eliminated as of Oct. 5.

Cockerham described the sergeant’s recent investigative work and partnerships with other law‑enforcement entities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and argued that the county’s decision “would rid our community of an active offender” if the position is lost.

Both speakers asked the board to reconsider staffing cuts and to preserve the positions they identified as critical to public safety.

Martin additionally made a public records request for the county’s legal expenditures since 2023, asking for the number of attorneys hired in 2023–2025, costs tied to each attorney, funding sources for those expenses, and the number of tort claims filed against the county and its employees. She said she expected those answers by Oct. 15, 2025.

The board did not take an immediate vote tied to the suggested personnel reversals during the Oct. 1 meeting. The public comments were recorded during the meeting’s public comment period and were directed at the board’s recent budget and staffing decisions.