(The Center Square) – Deployment of the National Guard to help “stabilize a crisis situation and protect innocent lives” has been requested of first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein by Republican U.S. Reps. Rev. Mark Harris, Pat Harrigan and Chuck Edwards.
The congressmen say the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police’s request for guard members to assist law enforcement is of deep concern. Charlotte had one stretch of eight homicides in seven days and drew national attention for an Aug. 22 stabbing death on a light rail train.
The month of October in the Queen City included 18 homicides and 17 days of early voting. On the latter, residents stuck with Democrats for mayor and the four at-large City Council seats, even flipping one Republican seat.
Stein has not commented publicly on the request.
Second-term Republican President Donald Trump has sent the guard to the cities of Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis, with authorizations for Chicago and Portland blocked by judges.
“In Washington, D.C.,” the congressmen said, “when President Trump deployed troops under his lawful authority, the city promptly saw a reduction in crime, including 12 consecutive days without a single murder. Similarly, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee partnered with the National Guard to protect the citizens of Memphis and saw remarkable outcomes: 850 violent criminals arrested, 175 illegal firearms confiscated, and 44 missing children returned safely to their families.”
Decarlos Brown Jr. faces a murder charge in the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska. He had been arrested 14 times previously since 2011. A Charlotte 15-year-old, according to a Police Department third quarter report, since August 2023 has been arrested 111 times, with seven charges of stolen property, 45 charges of larceny from an auto, and 55 charges of auto theft.
“What is most concerning is that city leaders, many of whom have served multiple terms, have failed to foresee these police shortages and build the ranks of CMPD at a time when attrition was manageable,” Daniel Redford, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, said in a release. “The officers of CMPD are now tasked with the burden of their failures and they grow more and more exhausted as each day passes.”
The Police Department released a third-quarter safety report “showcasing a substantial decline in crime citywide.” The report says crime overall is down 8% and violent offenses are down 20%.
The report also says violent crimes in Charlotte from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 number 4,506. Zarutska’s death is one of 62 homicides. Those numbers for the same time period in 2024 were 5,622 and 82.
Charlotte has had increases in commercial burglaries (1,824, up from 1,751) and larcenies from automobiles (7,716, up from 7,697). The congressmen tell Stein that aggravated assaults involving knives and guns has risen from 86 to 111 this year, and personal strong-arm robberies are up from 26 to 31.
“These are not just numbers – they represent North Carolinians whose lives have been lost or shattered by violent crime,” the congressmen say.
In an Elon University Poll released last month, roughly the same percentage of North Carolinians who opposed the president sending the National Guard to Charlotte or Durham worry about their safety when there.
Support or opposition of Trump sending guard members was 47% opposed and 42% in support. Also asked by about concerns for personal safety if spending time in particular cities, Charlotte and Durham were each at 49% for very or somewhat concerned, Winston-Salem was 42% and Raleigh and Greensboro each 41%.
Charlotte’s estimated population is 944,742, growing by 70,055 since the COVID-19 outbreak. The Queen City is 14th largest in the nation, second among the eight South Atlantic states, and 7th in the 16-state South as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
