ICE, Mecklenburg sheriff say they’re working together after meeting in Charlotte
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Sheriff Garry McFadden both said Friday they are working better together following a meeting.
ICE arrested someone at the county courthouse “incident-free” on Wednesday, a news release from the sheriff’s office said. That came after McFadden sat down with local ICE leaders on Oct. 17.
The man ICE picked up had a court date for a now-dismissed injury to personal property charge, according to state court filings. He had been out of jail since April, according to an inmate log, and showed up to court on the misdemeanor charge.
ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams confirmed that McFadden met last week with regional supervisor Maria Somers and another official who is in charge of removal operations.
“In general, productive,” Williams said of the conversation. “They talked about working together, doing arrests at the courthouse, things like that.”
McFadden echoed those sentiments. This week’s handoff at the courthouse “demonstrated exactly the kind of partnership that we’ve been requesting for years,” he said in his statement.
ICE activity in Charlotte
Earlier this year, ICE agents arrested people outside the courthouse, unannounced to local law enforcement. Some attorneys were disturbed. McFadden called on the agency to cooperate then, but agents soon after drew more concern and ire when they chased a man into a pond near the courthouse.
“The duck pond incident really bothered me,” the sheriff said in a recent interview. “When you’re sneaking around, we don’t know who you are. And you’ve got a mask on?”
He was hopeful after his conversation with ICE, he said.
Somers previously said that she wants to improve ICE’s reputation in Charlotte.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.