{"id":24609,"date":"2026-08-22T12:38:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=24609"},"modified":"2026-08-22T12:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:38:46","slug":"north-carolina-police-union-backs-whatley-amid-repeat-offender-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=24609","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina police union backs Whatley amid repeat offender crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A year after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light-rail train, a string of violent attacks involving people with extensive arrest records has kept North Carolina\u2019s public-safety debate in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

The one year milestone falls as the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police (NCFOP) endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, citing concerns about repeat offenders, bail policies and support for law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Zarutska, 23, was sitting aboard Charlotte\u2019s Lynx Blue Line on Aug. 22, 2025, when authorities said Decarlos Brown Jr. pulled a knife and stabbed her three times from behind before leaving the train.<\/p>\n

PROSECUTORS SAY CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING CASE WON’T BE DISMISSED REGARDLESS OF COMPETENCY RULING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brown, 34, has been found incompetent to stand trial in both his state and federal cases.<\/p>\n

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\"Iryna<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack on a Charlotte, N.C. light rail train.<\/span> (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Zarutska\u2019s killing helped prompt North Carolina\u2019s Iryna\u2019s Law, which tightened bail rules and increased oversight of defendants considered a risk to public safety.<\/p>\n

NCFOP President Chet Effler told Fox News Digital the union\u2019s roughly 6,000 members backed Whatley over concerns about repeat offenders, bail policies and support for law enforcement.<\/p>\n

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\"Booking<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Booking photo of Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., taken Sept. 14, 2022, following his arrest in Mecklenburg County. Brown, 34, is now charged in the Aug. 22, 2025, stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a Charlotte light-rail train.<\/span> (Mecklenburg County Sheriff\u2019s Office (MCSO))<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“We have lost accountability in this country,” Effler said. “There\u2019s no reason to be soft on crime whenever you have victims who are going to be victims of those crimes for years to come.”<\/p>\n

Effler also pointed to the arrest of Charlotte man Di-Quan Schafar Hunt as an example of what he described as a recurring failure to hold repeat offenders accountable.<\/p>\n

CHARLOTTE CAREER CRIMINAL RECORDS HIMSELF PUNCHING WOMAN IN UNPROVOKED ATTACK, POSTING TO SOCIAL MEDIA: POLICE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hunt, 32, had been arrested on charges at least nine times since 2023, records show. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said they arrested him after officers responding to an attempt-to-locate call were shown a social-media account containing videos detectives had already been investigating.<\/p>\n

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\"Diquan<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Diquan Schafer Hunt (pictured) has been arrested nine times since 2023, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.<\/span> (Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images; Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Police said one video was tied to a July 30 assault in which Hunt allegedly punched a woman on a Charlotte sidewalk before fleeing. The woman suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Hunt\u2019s record includes a December 2025 case involving charges of assault with a deadly weapon, communicating threats, second-degree trespass and two counts of carrying a concealed weapon. The booking record does not describe the underlying allegations or identify an alleged victim.<\/p>\n

Records also list a September 2025 simple assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female. In 2024, Hunt was arrested in cases involving alleged violations of a domestic-violence protective order, breaking or entering and injury to personal property. He is a felon with at least six additional misdemeanor convictions in Mecklenburg County.<\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE: DHS BLASTS SANCTUARY LEADERS AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF BAT ATTACK FREED FROM JAIL<\/strong><\/p>\n

“You can\u2019t hug your way out of crime,” Effler said. “You have to hold people accountable.”<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s case and Hunt\u2019s arrest are among several recent North Carolina crimes that have sharpened the debate over repeat offenders, bail and law enforcement resources.<\/p>\n

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Stanley Shockley, 44, was arrested for beating North Carolina mom Christen Phillips with a bat, deputies say. It happened while she was reportedly delivering her DoorDash orders.<\/span> (Onslow County Sheriff’s Office; GoFundMe)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In Jacksonville, DoorDash driver and mother of three Christen Phillips suffered skull fractures, brain bleeds and a fractured cheekbone after authorities said a man followed her and attacked her with a bat during an Aug. 1 delivery.<\/p>\n

The Onslow County Sheriff\u2019s Office said Phillips had honked at another driver while stopped at an intersection. Authorities said the driver, identified as 44-year-old Stanley Shockley, followed Phillips to a delivery stop and allegedly attacked her as she returned to her car.<\/p>\n

MOUNTAIN GETAWAY ROCKED BY \u2018LATEST CHAPTER\u2019 OF DEADLY VIOLENCE AS OFFICIALS AVOID GANG LABEL IN TOURIST TOWN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phillips was able to drive herself to a hospital after the attack. Shockley was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.<\/p>\n

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\"Downtown<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Asheville, North Carolina, downtown district with pedestrian walking crossing, street scene.<\/span> (Jeffrey Greenberg\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The public-safety concerns have also reached western North Carolina, where Asheville officials have described a series of deadly incidents involving young people as retaliatory violence but have resisted calling the activity gang-related.<\/p>\n

Effler criticized that approach, arguing that officials must be candid about the nature of violent crime before they can address it.<\/p>\n

“A criminal gang is a gang, I don\u2019t care how old they are,” Effler said. “You have to address it.”<\/p>\n

2 KILLED IN NORTH CAROLINA WHEN ‘PLANNED’ FIGHT ESCALATES INTO SHOOTING NEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Charlotte, another repeat offender, 29-year-old David Simpson, was charged with killing a man hours after his release on bond, renewing scrutiny of pretrial-release decisions.<\/p>\n

Effler said people with repeated arrests for violent or assault-related offenses should not be allowed to cycle through the justice system without meaningful consequences.<\/p>\n

North Carolina has also faced deadly shootings recently, outside its larger cities. In Winston-Salem, two people were killed and several others were wounded after what police said was a planned fight between juveniles that escalated into a shooting near a middle school.<\/p>\n

CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING SUSPECT DODGES POTENTIAL DEATH PENALTY FOR NOW AFTER HE’S RULED INCOMPETENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Authorities said multiple people exchanged gunfire at Leinbach Park, near Jefferson Middle School. Some of those involved were juveniles, police said.<\/p>\n

The shooting was not at the school, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said, but it underscored concerns over violent disputes that law-enforcement groups say have spread into communities across the state.<\/p>\n

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\"Michael<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley speaks as North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police President Chet Effler, right, looks on during an endorsement event in Wilmington, N.C., on Aug. 12, 2026.<\/span> (North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X<\/strong><\/p>\n

Effler said the cases involve different defendants and circumstances but reflect the same broader failure to hold dangerous offenders accountable before more people are harmed.<\/p>\n

Effler also accused former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, Whatley\u2019s opponent in the U.S. Senate race, of supporting cashless bail as governor.<\/p>\n

NORTH CAROLINA TEACHER’S KILLING REIGNITES SCRUTINY OF ROY COOPER’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORD IN SENATE RACE<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Michael<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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RNC Chair Michael Whatley announces his run for Senator for North Carolina on July 31st, 2025 in Gastonia, N.C.<\/span> (Paul Steinhauser\/Fox News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Cashless bail puts people on the streets that will arbitrarily walk up, like this Charlotte case and women getting assaulted and getting a video done,” Effler said. “You cannot allow a criminal to not be held accountable.”<\/p>\n

SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Cooper campaign spokesperson disputed Effler\u2019s claim, telling Fox News Digital the former governor “oppos[ed] cashless bail while signing stricter bail laws and putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars.”<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The campaign cited Cooper\u2019s signing of the Pretrial Integrity Act, which tightened bail requirements for certain violent offenses and repeat defendants. It also said it returned the NCFOP\u2019s endorsement questionnaire on Aug. 10, disputing Effler\u2019s statement that the union had not received a response.<\/p>\n

SEND US A TIP<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a news release announcing the endorsement, Whatley said he was “honored” to receive the NCFOP\u2019s backing and pledged to support law enforcement if elected. Fox News Digital has reached out to Whatley\u2019s campaign for additional comment.<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Former<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat from North Carolina, speaks with reporters on Sept. 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<\/span> (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Effler said Whatley has committed to back the Protect and Serve Act, the HALO Act and other measures the union believes would provide officers with greater protection and resources.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Michael Whatley has committed to the things that we believe in,” Effler said. “He\u2019ll support actions that doesn\u2019t defund law enforcement from doing the professional job that we need to do.”<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital\u2019s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Kelsie Cairns contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Greg Wehner is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering U.S. news and crime, with a focus on breaking developments, law enforcement, public safety and major stories shaping communities across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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