On Tuesday, March 26, the spokesman for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department stated that the department wanted to reduce the rancor, politicization and heated rhetoric that’s been all too prevalent recently when it comes to matters regarding the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Max Benbassat said that the current department and the new administration have a great deal of respect for former Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes and what he accomplished, is not attempting to undo the solid work Barnes and his team did over the last quarter of a century, and he added that department officials regret the way in which issues surrounding the department have become so heated and divisive.
Those comments – and the wish for a reset in which everyone in Guilford County comes together again for the good of the community – came after there was a strong negative response in local print and television media over a decision by new Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers to end an in-house DNA testing program and instead begin sending all samples to the state’s lab or to a private lab.
While that was the immediate reason for the comments from the department, Benbassat said there really is a broader issue at play. He said the department is interested in clearing up some misconceptions that have been out there and it also wants to tamp down all the heated emotions.
“We all respect what Sheriff Barnes did,” he said. “We’re trying to take that and improve upon it – we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.”
Benbassat also said that – not just with the DNA testing issue, but with other decisions as well that have proven controversial – the new department is simply trying to find ways to increase public safety, keep costs low for taxpayers and provide efficient and effective community-based law enforcement that reduces crime and increases safety.
“We’re making these decisions in the best interest of public safety,” he said.
Benbassat also said that he, Rogers and others in the department regret the way things have become so heated and divisive in recent months and he added that the department is hoping to – and working to– smooth over those differences as well as allay any fears the public might have about the changes that are coming with a new Sheriff’s Department administration.
“We’re here to improve the office – we are not trying to undo everything that Sheriff Barnes did,” he said.
Benbassat added that the decision announced this week is a perfect example. He said that, after the department announced the plans to do away with the in-house DNA testing program that was established three years ago under Barnes, it was merely trying to improve procedures. He said the in-house program didn’t produce accredited results so those results were limited in value.
“We would rather have the results from a certified lab,” he said.
He added that the DNA testing machine was only used infrequently and that there were a lot of operational costs involved, including the salary of the officer who conducted the tests.
Guilford County Sheriff’s Department Captain George Moore said on Tuesday that the Sheriff’s Department can still get quick DNA test results whenever those results are called for.
“If we have something that we need, a specific case where we have to find out who it is within a couple of hours, we can get in the car, take the sample down there and have those results within four or five hours,” Moore said.
“We all respect what Sheriff Barnes did,” he said. “We’re trying to take that and improve upon it – we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel.”
You’re seriously saying that with a straight face? LOLOLOLOL
In other words…”People are suffering from voters remorse” over this clown they elected. The voters that electing this halfwit are now having to deal with the gross incompetence that comes with electing a guy that was a jailer for a few years 20 years ago. I can easily see this “reset” basically becoming the GCSO never releasing any public statements in the future. Rogers himself is mostly responsible for all the negativity by going to the Summerfield meeting and blasting Barnes with clearly false claims and then doubling down on them after they were proven false.
Sheriff Rogers is way over his head and keeps stepping in it. He’s a criminal protecting criminals and it can only get worse. That is what happens when unintelligent voters elect incompetent people.
Great Idea of a reset, lets start with election night and re-vote
So, are they hiring back (and back paying) the non-political employees they fired?
Are they now willing to put sworn applicants directly on the road or are they sticking to Sheriff Rogers “put them in the jail first” edict that dried up the sworn application pool?
Are they resetting the racist promotions they made? How about the unfair demotions?
Are they turning over a new leaf in how they deal with other county departments like Human Resources? How about other law enforcement agencies (like ICE)?
Or, is this just the new public information officer earning his Lieutenant pay rate?
Sounds like Rogers got ahead of himself on the horrible lies he was spreading about BJ. Now he wants a reset?? NEWFLASH ROGERS; “YOU DONT GET A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION!!” I voted for you and in essence, you’re 10 times worst than Bj! In just 3 short months, you’ve manage to ruin over 40 careers over there! You’ve got a criminal running the sheriff office! You spend more time stopping cars, trying to be a Highway Patrolman than running the Sheriff office. You scream “racism” every time you can’t get what you want! And there is Capt Dodson,: after 19 years of outstanding and impeccable dedicated service to the Sheriffs office, you fired her for no reason except the fact that years ago she began dating a man Ms. Netter was infatuated with. It is apparent that This was an order that came down from Ms. Netter! Capt Dodson was not just the best black female Captain of 19 years over the detention facility, she was the best OFFICER you had that could run that facility! Now you can forget about detention accreditation because you just fired the only officer that spent the last 5 years working to get it done!
Rogers, in just 3 short months, you’ve managed to turn most of the county against you! These things have and will shape your legacy. You will be a one term Sheriff. Words of apology and reset are just not going to work now, nor 3 years from now. You’ve turned out to be an embarrassment! Enjoy the remainder of your term!
This reset request was easy to see coming. Just like their dubious firings, promotions, and demotions before they made any effort to move forward with the promised accreditation effort that would not have allowed such actions.
As far as Sheriff Rogers’ and his new public information officer go, most adults have learned to judge people by their actions not their words. A pig with lipstick is still dirty…