Beth Wood tried to investigate the Sheriff's Office. Now, Sheriff Ennis Wright is suing her.
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Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright has sued State Auditor Beth Wood, alleging Wood and her office illegally tried to investigate his office in recent months.
According to the lawsuit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court on May 26, after receiving an anonymous tip, the Office of the State Auditor contacted the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in late October to meet with Wright. Ronnie Mitchell, who is representing Wright in the suit and serves as general counsel for the Sheriff’s Office, said Thursday that a Nov. 1 meeting took place in person with two employees from the Office of the State Auditor.
In the lawsuit, Wright said that Wood's purview is over state agencies and that his office is a county agency, which is why the Sheriff's Office only provided Wood's investigators with records available to the general public.
What did the state auditor want to see?
According to court documents, between Nov. 1, 2022, and March 8, 2023, Wood and her investigators requested the following:
A PDF of the Sheriff’s Office’s manual of policies and procedures.
A listing of all Sheriff’s Office vehicles and which employees the vehicles are assigned to, excluding undercover vehicles.
An Excel spreadsheet of a payroll report for all employees from Jan. 1, 2020, to the present day.
The personnel file for Mark Rowden, a chaplain with the Sheriff’s Office.
All documentation related to the construction of an outdoor shooting range at the Sheriff’s Office’s training center.
A list of all equipment and trailers received from FEMA or purchased with FEMA funding from 2018 to the present.
All documentation related to the purchase of two Chevy Tahoes.
A warning citation for speeding allegedly issued in 2017. None of the court documents specify who the citation was issued to or which Sheriff's Office employee issued it.
Access to all employees in the Crime Scene Investigation Unit for interviews.
Timeline of events
Court filings from Wood and Wright laid out the following timeline:
Nov. 1, 2022: The State Auditor's Office requests the Sheriff’s Office’s policies and procedures manual, list of vehicles and payroll report. Mitchell said Thursday this request was made during an in-person meeting and that he told Wood's investigators they would be provided with public records, but that an investigation or audit would not fall within their jurisdiction. Mitchell said he and Wright offered to "see what they (could do) to help" however they could if Wood’s office would clarify the nature of their request.
Dec. 9, 2022: Mitchell sends an email to the State Auditor's Office requesting clarification on what the investigation concerns. Wood's office does not respond.
February 2023: The Office of the State Auditor again requests materials from the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff's Office offers only the records available under public records law.
March 8, 2023: Wright is served with a subpoena for the records requested by Wood's office.
March 17, 2023: Mitchell responds with a letter to Wood stating the subpoena did not provide sufficient notice in order to provide the materials by the deadline on the subpoena, but that the Sheriff's Office would be willing to make arrangements with Wood's office to turn over the records once compiled. The letter also restates Wright’s position that an audit is not within Wood’s jurisdiction.
May 5, 2023: Wood sends Wright a letter stating that she has the authority to audit and investigate the Sheriff’s Office and that the Sheriff’s Office has until May 19 to produce the requested records, or they will request a judge become involved.
May 17, 2023: Wright sends Wood a letter stating that his office has provided documents available under public record laws and requesting she withdraw the March subpoena. Wright also asks for Wood to speak with him directly “to attempt to resolve this situation,” according to a portion of the letter.
May 26, 2023: Wright sues Wood in Cumberland County Superior Court.
Goal of the lawsuit
Wright’s complaint states that he is seeking the following:
A judgment declaring whether Wood can legally investigate or audit the Sheriff’s Office.
A temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and a permanent judgment preventing Wood from investigating the Sheriff’s Office.
At least $10,000 in compensatory damages
Punitive damages.
Cost of legal fees and services.
What's next?
Both parties appeared in court Tuesday, with representation for Wood arguing that the suit should be moved to Wake County because all business related to the Sheriff’s Office investigation was conducted there, according to court filings. Wood had also filed a motion to dismiss the case because she was allegedly improperly served.
Mitchell said Thursday that a judge has yet to rule on the issue of the venue, but that both parties agreed Wood was properly served with the lawsuit and that the case should not be dismissed.
“This is an inordinate expansion of purported governmental authority where it doesn’t exist,” Mitchell said.
The Sheriff’s Office is troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding the investigation, he said.
“It’s just a strange thing that she doesn’t tell us what it is,” Mitchell said, noting that the county has auditors and that the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies regularly and thoroughly audits the Sheriff’s Office.
A spokesperson for the Office of the State Auditor declined to comment Thursday.
Government watchdog reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County sheriff suing NC state auditor over investigation
