North Carolina
Police chases in NC increase, raising concerns over safety
A crash after a chase involving Garner police overnight is the latest of several recent police chases in central North Carolina.
The number of chases involving the State Highway Patrol has more than doubled in recent years:
- In 2019, there were 454 chases
- In 2022, there were 1,053 chases
Across the U.S., federal data shows deaths associated with chases have also increased in recent years.
Law enforcement leaders said the tactic is often necessary to make the streets safer.
WRAL News spoke with Barbara Mickens last year after her cousin Thaddeus Mickens was killed on his way to work in 2022. Thaddeus was simply a bystander at the crash on U.S. Highway 301 near Intersatte 95 in Kenly. He was 56.
“You don’t have to chase this woman through town,” Mickens said.
At the time, state troopers were chasing after a woman for speeding.
In 2022, there were 24 people killed in chases across North Carolina. Half of those – 12 – were innocent bystanders like Thaddeus Mickens.
WRAL News asked retired law enforcement officer and former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison if he thinks state troopers use proper discretion when deciding when to chase a suspect.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Harrison said. “I believe in … the chase policy, is it dangerous? Absolutely.”
Harrison was a state trooper before he served as Wake County sheriff from 2002-2018. He sees pursuits as a necessary part of policing.
From 2019 to 2022, state trooper-led chases increased more than 130%.
The State Highway Patrol was not available for an interview on Wednesday, but a spokesperson said the agency didn’t see any strong correlations for the increase.
“It’s a hard call to make, and, you’ve got to look at why you’re chasing them,” Harrison said.
The State Highway Patrol’s pursuit policy has 18 pages outlining the difficult decisions. It factors in everything from weather conditions to the danger to the public created by the person they’re chasing.
“It is hard to do. I’m not going stand here and tell you that it’s not,” Harrison said. “The sad part of the chases, it’s not you the trooper or the sheriff or the police officer you’re thinking about or the guy trying to get away from you.
“You’re thinking about you, the family riding down the street.
Harrison said troopers and other law enforcement officers across the state go through rigorous training to try and make this maneuver as safe as possible.
Harrison said he feels the only way pursuits will go down are if penalties go up for fleeing from law enforcement.
Right now, if someone is caught running from police, they could face up to a Class H felony, which typically receives just a few months in jail.
North Carolina
New poll shows Harris eyeing victory in North Carolina as possible pick-up
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North Carolina
In North Carolina, Democrats counting on young voters
For several months, Yampiere Lugo has been going door to door, urging young people in North Carolina to vote in November.
With Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race and Kamala Harris’s arrival atop the Democratic ticket, the party activist says his generation — a key voting bloc — is fired up.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people around my age who have sort of all expressed the same sentiment — that they’re just so much more excited to have someone who’s just younger, more energetic,” Lugo told AFP.
The 25-year-old, who works as an administrative assistant at a local school, says even people he thought might skip the election altogether have said the vice president has their support.
The enthusiasm marks a sharp contrast with the situation Lugo was facing just over a month ago, when he was canvassing for Biden in Laurinburg, the seat of Scotland County, not far from the border with South Carolina.
At the time, the activist admitted to AFP that young voters were “frustrated” with their options, facing a choice between the 81-year-old Biden and Donald Trump, the 78-year-old Republican former president.
Now, Lugo believes Harris, 59, can win North Carolina, one of a handful of swing states likely to play a pivotal role in the race for the White House.
Winning here will be an uphill battle — the southern state has not voted for a Democrat in the presidential election since Barack Obama in 2008.
“North Carolina is going to have something to say in November,” said Zach Finley, the president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina.
But for Harris to turn the state Democratic blue, the party needs to campaign “the right way, turning out the folks we need to,” added Finley, who is also 25.
– ‘Excited’ –
On a national level, voters between the ages of 18 and 39 favored Biden over Trump in 2020 by a margin of about 20 percentage points, according to the Pew Research Center.
Finley says the party needs to “turn out young people who, especially in the last couple of years, have been really disincentivized” by the political process.
Democrats are getting out the vote the old-fashioned way in Scotland County — knocking on doors and talking to people.
The rural area is one of the most hotly contested political battlefields in the country — Hillary Clinton bested Trump here in 2016, but the Republican bounced back to defeat Biden in 2020, by just 287 votes.
In November, “it’s all about turnout,” says Garland Pierce, a Democratic state representative and a Baptist pastor.
“That’s what everybody’s really depending on, is the young voters to really go to the polls.
The lawmaker says Harris’s somewhat surprise breakthrough into the race has galvanized voters in North Carolina.
“It appears that young people are really excited” about her candidacy, he said, adding that the economy will be a key issue in the contest.
– ‘Cost of things’ –
Pierce’s prediction about the economy is shared by a number of young voters AFP met in the streets of Laurinburg, which is home to 15,000 residents.
“Everything used to be cheaper,” laments Donnie Leviner, an 18-year-old student with his own home renovation business.
Before Biden won the White House, “gas prices used to be way lower,” said Leviner, who added that he would vote for Trump in his first-ever trip to a presidential voting booth.
For Lucas Wylie, a 26-year-old engineer having a coffee at an outdoor cafe with his dog, young voters are “very focused on the cost of things and affordability.”
Wylie cited expensive housing and high interest rates as evidence of soaring prices, and said both would be important to him in November.
Finley agreed.
“There’s just a lot of pent-up anxiety being a young person in this country, not even being able to afford a home,” he said. “It’s almost out of reach, especially in North Carolina.”
Finley said Democrats need to reassure young voters that they are attuned to their concerns, and ready to deliver solutions.
Harris will need to convince young people that they will ultimately be able to “achieve some form of the American dream” — and offer the same thing to the next generation, Finley said.
rle/sst/bfm
North Carolina
North Carolina QB Max Johnson exits game after brutal injury, out for the season
Max Johnson’s first season under center for the North Carolina Tar Heels came to an abrupt end Thursday.
The senior quarterback grabbed his leg as he lay on the turf for several minutes in the third quarter of UNC’s season opener against Minnesota. Johnson would eventually need the assistance of a cart to exit the field. He was then taken to a hospital.
On Friday, UNC confirmed Johnson had undergone a medical procedure in Minneapolis. The school also noted he would travel back to North Carolina in the coming days.
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While Johnson is expected to make a full recovery, the injury will sideline him for the rest of the 2024 season, ESPN reported.
SHEDEUR SANDERS, TRAVIS HUNTER SHINE AS COLORADO BARELY GETS BY NORTH DAKOTA STATE IN SEASON OPENER
Conner Harrell, who played for the Tar Heels in last season’s bowl game after Drake Maye declared for the draft, led the team the rest of the way in the 19-17 win at Minnesota and is positioned to take over the starting job for a Sept. 7 home game against Charlotte.
Johnson, the son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, had transferred from Texas A&M and won the starting job over Harrell to replace Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall NFL draft pick.
But Johnson was hurt when his leg bent awkwardly as he was taken to the ground on a blitz by Justin Walley in the second half.
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown addressed Johnson’s injury after the game.
“I hate that Max got hurt for him and for us. Conner [has] got to come on,” Brown said.
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Johnson, a fifth-year quarterback who started his career with two years at LSU, finished 12-for-19 for 71 yards with one interception while also running for a score. The team awarded Johnson a game ball afterward.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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