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Residents criticize sheriff's office response as commissioners pull sheriff vehicle purchase from consent agenda
Summary
Multiple residents told commissioners they had unresolved break‑ins and poor response from the sheriff's office; the board pulled a planned consent‑agenda item on sheriff fleet replacement for further review and tabled it to the next meeting.
Several residents used the May 5 public comment period to criticize Pender County Sheriff’s Office response to thefts, break‑ins and drug activity in their neighborhoods, and the board responded by removing a sheriff‑related purchase from the consent agenda for further review.
William Oliphant Jr. and William Oliphant III each described multiple incidents in their neighborhoods they say have not been investigated or resolved. “None of them has been solved, period,” William Oliphant Jr. said about a string of burglaries and alleged investigative delays. He described voicemail and complaint records he said had not been followed up by detectives.
A separate commenter, Nancy Ramsey, who said she served in the military and as a law‑enforcement officer, criticized the board’s recent handling of legal‑advertising changes and also asked who would be held accountable for damaged sheriff vehicles; she said she had expected to see clear facts and independent explanations.
On the agenda the board had a consent‑agenda item (8.1) that covered sheriff fleet replacement; Commissioner George said deputies had reported maintenance problems with the county’s Chevrolet vehicles and that deputies preferred Ford Explorers. No one from the sheriff’s office was present at that time. After discussion, the board voted to pull item 8.1 from the consent agenda and table it to the next meeting so the sheriff’s office could provide more information and staff could explore vehicle options and availability.
The transcript records widespread public dissatisfaction with the sheriff’s office response among speakers at the May 5 meeting; the board did not take further disciplinary action at the meeting. Commissioners also acknowledged that a deputy had been in a serious accident that evening and asked the public to keep that deputy and the deputy’s family in their thoughts.
