Mooresville appeals judge’s order to release Town Hall video of mayor with woman
The town of Mooresville on Wednesday appealed a judge’s order to release overnight Town Hall surveillance videos of Mayor Chris Carney with a woman from Oct. 10, 2024.
Lawyer Keith Merritt of Charlotte filed the notice of appeal in behalf of the town to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, court records show.
In a statement released by the town communications office, unnamed Mooresville officials said they based the appeal “on strong concerns about the broad scope” of Judge Richard Gottlieb’s April 15 ruling in Iredell County Civil Superior Court.
The statement said the town also is concerned about “future implications for the safety and security of municipal buildings.” .
“In the current order, all surveillance videos captured in any part of public buildings statewide could be considered public records,” according to the statement.
“This includes video of any person in or around any public building including a police department, fire department, or courthouse. The expansive breadth of this order poses safety and security risks for public service workers and the community at large.”
Gottlieb, who is from Forsyth County, ruled that the overnight surveillance videos are neither criminal investigative materials nor sensitive public security information, as the town contended they were.
As “the videos were not compiled by a law enforcement agency for a criminal investigation, they cannot be kept confidential,” per state law, the judge ruled.
The ruling came in the ongoing civil lawsuit filed by WBTV against the town.
What happened at Town Hall
Alarms were twice triggered in the building, requiring police response each time, Carney has acknowledged in an interview with The Charlotte Observer.
He didn’t have pants on “for an extended period,” according to the WBTV complaint in court.
Carney has said in media interviews that he fell ill after medications he was on mixed with alcohol after a gathering at a bar near Town Hall.
The woman who accompanied him to Town Hall is a longtime family friend who sent a photo of the ill Carney at Town Hall to his wife that night, so she’d know the condition he was in, he told the Observer.
He went there to retrieve his phone when he got sick, he said.
“I never thought, to be fair, that vomiting and making a mess would become a national story,” the mayor said. “I really couldn’t have imagined that.
“And I would tell the public, I am so sorry,” he said. “I truly didn’t think anything other than I needed my phone and then, when I felt bad, this is a safe space ... a place where, when I felt better, I would go home.”
“When do I get to have my own dignity?”
Regarding the pantless claim, he said, he was cleaning vomit off himself, “by myself. The other person was multiple offices away, behind two sets of doors, he said.
“When do I get to have my own dignity?” Carney asked. “Anybody who’s reviewed that film, there’s nothing inappropriate.”
Wednesday’s statement also quoted the Mooresville Board of Commissioners, which passed a vote of no confidence in Carney 4-2 April 6. The measure also asked Carney to resign.
“We want to be clear that the decision to appeal the court order is not about concealing anything or protecting Mayor Carney’s interests in this ruling,” the Board of Commissioners statement said. “The Board stands behind its earlier decision in not condoning the specific behavior of the Mayor that evening.
“The decision to appeal the court order is solely focused on protecting the safety and well-being of our Town staff, and ultimately anyone who needs the services provided in public buildings across our community and our state,” the board said.