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March 26th / 28th, 2010
"Sheriff Without a Gun"
In an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show", a Hollywood producer makes a
movie about a sheriff from North Carolina who doesn't carry a sidearm. The
title of the fictional film was "Sheriff Without a Gun". Now, forty years
later, life could imitate art if former Davidson County sheriff Gerald Hege
wins his old job back.
In his day, Hege was a made for TV lawman. He put chain gangs back to
work. He removed TVs and other amenities from the jail. He painted jail cells
pink with crying blue teddy bears as a way to humiliate prisoners. And, he
also painted his squad car to look like a spider who catches criminals in
its web. It's no wonder that Hege was a media darling. He appeared regularly
on "America's Most Wanted", and became the star of Court TV's "Inside Cell
Block F". Hege also had his patrol cars outfitted with license plates which
proclaimed "No Deals". He reveled in his role as America's Toughest
Sheriff.
All that came to an end in 2004 when Hege was charged with fifteen felony
counts, which ranged from embezzlement to obtaining property by false
pretenses. In the end, the sheriff who never made deals with criminals, made one
for himself, and pleaded to two counts dealing with obstruction of justice
for covering up missing monies from the vice and narcotics unit. The other
thirteen counts were dismissed, and he avoided prison time, serving just
three years probation.
Now, the one-time sheriff wants to return to crime fighting, and that
doesn't set too well with some of his former counterparts in other
jurisdictions. Last week, the North Carolina Sheriffs Association came out in support
of Senate bill 351. The bill, proposed by state senator Stan Bingham would
prohibit a felon from running for sheriff. If passed, the law would not
affect Hege or five other felons who are currently seeking office. Among them
are: Avery County's Nub Taylor who once plead guilty to obstruction charges;
Mark Stewart in McDowell County, who was convicted of selling drugs;
former Washington County sheriff Stanley Jones who served time for embezzlement;
and David Morrow of Cleveland County who had a drug conviction over twenty
years ago.
Still, there are several reasons why Senate bill 351 should pass. First, a
felon turned sheriff doesn't have much credibility when it comes to
urging young folks to stay on the straight and narrow. A lecture on how crime
doesn't pay would seem disingenuous. Second, our existing laws contradict
each other. For example, a sheriff is not allowed to hire a felon as his
deputy, but the sheriff himself can be a felon. Finally, a convicted felon is
prohibited from carrying a firearm, which means if Hege were to reclaim his
old job, he could become a target for hard core criminals such as the mafia
drug dealers he once claimed had a contract hit out on him.
Gerald Hege is, among other things, a study in contrasts. He was accused
of racial profiling, yet was responsible for bullying no less than eight Ku
Klux Klansmen into hanging up their robes. He was accused of
misappropriating funds, yet his spider car merchandising raised a ton of money for
local charities. That's why I am ambivalent about his candidacy, and, to some
degree, about the proposed legislation. For now, though, I am most concerned
about the possibility of a man getting elected sheriff, knowing that he
wouldn't be able to wear a sidearm.
True enough, sheriffs are mainly administrators, but in addition to not
being able to protect himself, he would be of little use to a civilian in
distress should he happen upon a dangerous situation.
Andy Taylor chose not to wear a gun because there was no serious crime in
Mayberry, but Gerald Hege is prohibited from carrying a gun because he
committed a serious crime. Moreover, Davidson County is not Mayberry circa
1960. 2010 is a dangerous place, and it is no longer a good idea for a sheriff
to try and keep the peace, without a piece.
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