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Sheriff’s office briefs Weddington council on swatting call, explains shared‑sergeant cost and delayed start
Summary
Union County deputies told the council about a recent swatting incident in Steeplechase and explained that an added sergeant to supervise small‑town contract deputies will be cost‑shared among five towns and is targeted for an Oct. 1 start to ease fiscal impact.
Union County contract deputies reported to the Weddington Town Council on June 8 about last month’s false report — commonly known as a swatting call — that prompted a large law‑enforcement response but caused no injuries.
Lieutenant James May said the incident, listed on the county crime‑mapping site as a gunshot wound, was a fabricated phone call that drew a heavy and rapid deputy response; the office continues to investigate who made the call. “No one was hurt inside of the home. It was just a fake…prank call,” May said.
Chief Deputy Tony Underwood presented a cost‑sharing plan for an added sergeant to provide direct supervision of 14 deputy positions serving five contract towns, saying the county initially absorbed the lieutenant supervision but the span of control required a sergeant. Underwood described a proportional funding formula in which Weddington’s share is the largest (about 35–36 percent of the sergeant cost) and said the projected quarterly cost for the sergeant position was about $56,000; delaying implementation from July 1 to Oct. 1 reduces the first quarter share by roughly $14,216 for the town.
Underwood said the added sergeant is intended to provide consistent supervision, training and development for deputies assigned to the small‑town contracts and to strengthen preventive patrols and traffic enforcement. He also noted the county has absorbed Lieutenant May’s supervision cost to date and described the shared sergeant as a way to stabilize supervision across municipalities.
Council members asked how the sergeant’s time will be allocated; Underwood said the supervisor will go where needs are greatest and that Weddington, as the largest contract town, is likely to see a larger portion of that time. The council did not take a formal vote on the item at the June 8 meeting but recorded the scheduling change and discussed the prorated fiscal impact as part of the budget conversation.
