Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers didn’t waste much time replacing former Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Edward Melvin who turned in his letter of resignation on Tuesday, Feb. 12, for “personal reasons.”
Late Tuesday afternoon, just hours after Melvin made his departure official, Rogers told theRhino Timesthat he had already named Sheriff’s Department Colonel Steve Parr to the job.
Before his promotion to second in command of the Sheriff’s Department, Parr, as colonel, was responsible for overseeing many of the department’s operations.
Like Melvin, Parr was brought on board by Rogers to help lead the department after Rogers won the sheriff’s race in November.
Now the top two law enforcement officers in the Sheriff’s Department have in common the fact that they both ran against former Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes. Parr lost to Barnes in the Republican primary last year before Rogers beat Barnes in the general election.
Parr, who grew up in Guilford County, graduated from Elon University in 1984. In 2007, he received his Master’s Degree from the University of Cincinnati. Parr has served with the NC Highway Patrol, the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department. He reached the rank of sergeant with the Sheriff’s Department before retiring and running for sheriff.
Rogers said that, on some of his hires, county administration has given him a hard time and made him jump through hoops that he doesn’t believe others have go through.
“Is it systemic racism?” Rogers, the county’s first African-American sheriff, asked.
One county official who asked not to be identified said Rogers and his hires are subject to the same requirements as other county directors and said the county was simply following hiring protocol.
And so it begins. Every time anyone attempts to hold Rogers to any standard, its racism (systemic or otherwise). Obviously he can’t stand without the racism crutch.
Rogers has made mistakes since election day that will haunt him (and the tax payers who will be bailing him out) for years to come. The county HR department did it’s best to protect the county but at the end of the day the Sheriff can hire whomever he wants. Argue with this all you want but within a year many more competent, career employees will have left and it won’t be because of the money. It will be because Sheriff Rogers and Catherine Netter have either forced them out (as they did with Capt. Dodson hours before Chief Melvin left) or frustrated them out due to their incompetence and arrogance.
People are really upset that their beloved B.J. Barnes is no longer the Sheriff. They hate the fact that someone else (especially an African-American) can become the new Sheriff of Guilford County. I presume the decades that Barnes was Sheriff that he came in with a silver spoon and flawless. And during his tenure that he did everything by the books and all his employees were happy. I used to think the same thing until I begin the see the real B.J. Barnes through his words on social media after his defeat. I believe Sheriff Rogers will be just fine with or without any persons negative opinions of him or the job he is tasked to do. Those who support him will continue to support him just as those of you who support Barnes. But like it or not…THERE IS A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN!!
You are dreaming Charles. Everyone would be better off if Ed Melvin or Theron Phipps had been elected Sheriff. It has nothing to do with BJ Barnes (whose exit was not stellar). It has everything to do with an inexperienced show-off who is racing around the county in his new Tahoe while running off talented, experienced people who were not political.
Also, don’t waste your race card because employees of all races are regretting that Theron Phipps didn’t try harder.
The Constitution of the State directs the Sheriff, has far as him following county HR would be at his own leisure.
I say give the Sheriff time and lets see where he is at after one year.
You are dreaming Charles. Everyone would be better off if Ed Melvin or Theron Phipps had been elected Sheriff. It has nothing to do with BJ Barnes (whose exit was not stellar). It has everything to do with an inexperienced show-off who is racing around the county in his new Tahoe while running off talented, experienced people who were not political.
Also, don’t waste your race card because employees of all races are regretting that Theron Phipps didn’t try harder.