5 Things to Know: Advocates to Address Alleged Abuse in Uptown Jail

Advocates to Address Alleged Abuse in Uptown Jail

Local attorneys, community members and advocates will hold a press conference in front of the Mecklenburg County Detention Center in Uptown on Monday morning to address horrific living conditions and ongoing human rights abuses reported by those incarcerated there.

The Charlotte Bail Fund, which raises community funds to pay bail for people held pretrial who cannot pay their own bonds, is holding the press conference to raise awareness about what people incarcerated inside the jail have told its organizers and their attorneys and family members.

“Since December 2023, four people have died in Mecklenburg County Jail Central,” read a release announcing the press conference, adding that the number of inmate deaths at the facility has doubled under Sheriff Garry McFadden, who took office in December 2018.

According to Charlotte Bail Fund, prisoners report that their laundry is not being done, with some incarcerated folks having been forced to wear the same outfit for days and even weeks inside the jail.

“In addition to being understaffed, the Central Jail is severely overcrowded,” the release read. “Attorneys say their clients have seen prisoners being forced to sleep on the floor because there were not enough beds. Other reports detail that some prisoners are not being fed every meal.”

Read more: Former Staff Speaks Out About Issues at Mecklenburg County Jail (2022)

The press conference comes one month after the family of Russell Fincham, who died in the Uptown jail in 2022, filed a lawsuit against the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office alleging detention officers failed to provide him adequate emergency medical attention.

Speakers on Monday will address the alleged abuses endured by prisoners inside the jail and propose “what changes are necessary to treat incarcerated individuals with dignity and humanity.” Queen City Nerve will continue to follow this story as it develops.

Court Finds CMS Withheld Pertinent Information in Public Records Request

A special master with the Mecklenburg County Superior Court ruled Friday that documents published by WBTV in May regarding sexual assaults in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools should be considered public records and should have been provided to the station in response to a public records request.

The school district had argued that the disciplinary data records published by WBTV — spreadsheets aggregating data regarding incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual offense, and rape in CMS schools — were properly withheld because they fall under the category of student records, not considered public records.

In Friday’s ruling, Special Master Stephen J. Dunn stated that the records, in which information that might permit
identification of individual students — including student ID, student name, gender, race, birthdate, and age — was redacted, should not be considered part of any individual student’s official record, and qualify as public records consistent with the N.C Public Records Act.

The records published by WBTV, labeled “Student-on-Student Sexual Harassment Disciplinary Data,” covered school years 2010-11 through 2014-15. They were acquired by the station through a confidential source. Dunn ruled that any similar documents pertaining to the 2015-16 school year should be handed over to WBTV.

“While the Board is disappointed and disagrees with the Special Master’s determination, at all times during this litigation, we were acting in the best interest of the students by protecting the confidentiality of student information,” read a release from CMS on Friday evening. “Although we must comply with the Special Master’s determination in this instance, we have an ongoing obligation to protect student records and we will continue to make every effort to safeguard our students’ confidential information. The Board [of Education] and General Counsel acted with integrity and propriety, and with the best interest of students in mind.”

Man Killed After Motorhome Plows Into Police Vehicles

A driver killed a person and injured two police officers after plowing into police vehicles involved in an investigation on the side of I-485 on Thursday.

According to CMPD, shortly after 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, police responded to a stolen vehicle call for service on the shoulder of I-485 at Mt. Holly Road. Around 10:15 a.m., as officers were actively investigating, the driver of a motorhome that was passing the scene of the investigation while taking the Mt. Holly Road exit struck two police cars and the civilian who was reporting the stolen vehicle to officers.

In the above map of vehicle-related deaths in Charlotte thus far in 2024, red markers signify a person killed in their car, black markers signify pedestrian deaths, purple markers signify motorcyclist deaths, and green markers signify deaths involving micro-mobility vehicles such as bicycles, scooters, skateboards and wheelchairs.

The civilian, later identified as 29-year-old Brian Battle,  was pronounced dead at the scene. An officer who was pinned in his vehicle was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, as were a second officer and the driver of the motorhome. All injured parties are expected to make full recoveries. At the time of CMPD’s latest update on Friday, no charges had yet been filed, though the investigation continues.

According to our tracking (above), Battle was the seventh person and third pedestrian killed on Charlotte roads during the eight-day period between Aug. 15-22.

8-Year-Old Shot in Southwest Charlotte Incident

An 8-year-old child was shot in the stomach in an accidental shooting incident that took place in a home on West Arrowood Road in southwest Charlotte on Thursday afternoon.

According to CMPD Maj. Jonathan Thomas, officers responded to a shooting call at an extended-stay hotel at about 2 p.m. and found the 8-year-old victim suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound that came from inside the hotel room.

Thomas said that “family members and other people” were in the room at the time and it appeared that the shooting occurred due to an accidental discharge. Thomas said the investigation was ongoing as to whether anyone would face charges.

“We’re just happy that the child is not hurt more seriously,” he added.

Arrest Made in 34-Year-Old Hit-and-Run

Detectives with CMPD’s Major Crash Investigation Unit released information Friday about recent charges filed in a 34-year-old fatal hit-and-run cold case.

Just before 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29, 1989, 52-year-old Ruth Buchanan was crossing the intersection of 5th and North Tryon streets in Uptown when she was struck by a dark-colored vehicle that failed to stop at a red light. The driver of the suspect vehicle fled the scene. Buchanan later died at Charlotte Memorial Hospital.

Witnesses gave investigators a license plate number and description of the car, which they recovered on South Tryon Street the following month. Technicians collected physical evidence from the vehicle, a Mitsubishi Galant determined to have been stolen from a car dealership in Charlotte.

Due to a lack of further evidence, the case remained open for the next 32 years until 2022, when detectives received a Crime Stoppers tip from an anonymous caller who identified a man they believed to be involved in the collision. Though it was determined that the new suspect was not involved, the subsequent investigation led CMPD’s Crime Lab to analyze physical evidence recovered from the suspect vehicle that was still in evidence lockup at CMPD headquarters.

DNA analysis and evidence examination led detectives to Herbert Stanback, 68, who is currently serving a 22-year sentence in Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg in connection to an unrelated case.

In March, CMPD detectives traveled to Laurinburg to speak with Stanback, who reportedly confirmed he was the driver of the vehicle that struck Buchanan that day in 1989. According to CMPD, Stanback was incarcerated at the Charlotte Correctional Facility but out on a work-release program at the time of the crash. CMPD obtained an arrest warrant for felony hit and run resulting in serious injury or death against Stanback, who was transported to Mecklenburg County and formally charged in the case in June.