Democratic NC lawmakers reiterate plea to GOP for more law enforcement, mental health funding

Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina made a renewed plea Tuesday for increased funding for law enforcement and more mental health resources to prevent crime — a call that comes as Republican legislative leaders prepare a wide-ranging public-safety bill in the wake of a fatal stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train.

Republicans are likely to suggest stricter rules for bail and pre-trial release, making it more likely that more people will spend more time behind bars after being accused of a crime. They could also tackle issues ranging from mental hospital involuntary commitments to strategies to bring back the death penalty.

House minority leader Robert Reives, D-Chatham, on Tuesday called for a bipartisan bill that provides funding for local police, district attorneys, magistrates and judges — including competitive salaries for officers to help recruit and retain talent. That’s something Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has also called for; after the stabbing Stein criticized the Republican-led legislature for not having taken up his state budget proposal with higher salaries for law enforcement.   

Reives also said any new legislation should include investments in mental health systems and employees to enable treatment of people who could be a danger to themselves or others. He also said the state needs better early intervention, including the expansion of involuntary commitment and the use of extreme risk protection orders, known as “red flag” laws, which enable authorities to confiscate firearms from people who are considered dangerous to themselves or others — a proposal that enjoys broad public support but which is politically divisive.

Reives and House Democrats have more leverage to get their agenda included in bills now. Republicans lost their veto-proof supermajority in the state House in the 2024 elections and now need at least one Democrat to break party lines to override possible vetoes by Stein.

If the GOP proposal comes to be seen as focused more on partisan politics than genuine public safety concerns, it could face a veto hurdle.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Destin Hall didn’t immediately provide a statement about Reives’ suggestions for the bill. Hall previously acknowledged that Republicans might forge ahead with a bill that would receive no bipartisan support, suggesting that they might file it as a local bill — with changes that would hypothetically affect only Charlotte or Mecklenburg County instead of applying statewide — since state law forbids the governor from vetoing local bills. 

Republican lawmakers have spent years blocking efforts to pass red-flag laws in North Carolina like the one Reives is calling for. Such proposals are often opposed by gun rights groups, who say they deprive gun owners of their right to due process.

A June 2022 WRAL poll that found 87% percent of the public supports red flag laws.

“Any legislative package seeking to improve our criminal justice system in North Carolina should and must be done in a bipartisan, collaborative manner,” Reives said in a statement that echoed requests made last week, when Republican leaders announced plans for the public-safety bill.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., notably bucked his party and co-wrote a 2022 bill that became law, with bipartisan support, after the Uvalde school shooting in Texas. Part of it was to create an optional red flag system that states could opt into. Conservatives were furious, and his involvement in writing that law was partly why the North Carolina Republican Party censured Tillis in 2023. His rift with the party base never healed, and Tillis bowed out of seeking reelection next year after Republican President Donald Trump threatened to endorse a challenger against him.

Hall and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, last week said they would propose new crime-fighting policies when the legislature returns next week. Hall and Berger indicated the proposals could seek to make it easier to involuntarily commit people to mental hospitals, end cashless bail, and ban the state's executive branch leaders, including Stein, from attempting to advocate for criminal justice reforms. Berger also said he’s examining ways to restart the death penalty in the state, where the practice has been paused for years.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian who lived in Charlotte, was fatally stabbed in the neck on Aug. 22 by a male suspect, investigators say. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, faces state and federal murder charges for Zarutska’s death. The incident gained national attention and calls for action after surveillance video went viral this month, drawing responses from all levels of government — even fromTrump, who has sought to make the case a central theme in the closely watched race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.

Republicans have blamed local Democratic politicians and judicial-system officials and staff for the incident, saying Brown should have never been on the streets in the first place. Brown was awaiting trial for an unrelated crime — misusing the 911 emergency dispatch service — at the time of the alleged attack. He had been released with no bail after being charged in that incident, but it isn’t common practice to jail people on those kinds of charges while they wait for their court date.