DA, NC investigators weigh criminal probe of Henderson County college's police training

The State Bureau of Investigation and Henderson County district attorney are weighing a possible criminal probe into a community college's suspended police training program.

Andrew Murray, district attorney for Henderson, Transylvania and Polk counties, said June 12 he was waiting for information from the SBI about Blue Ridge Community College's Basic Law Enforcement Training. The Henderson County program was halted May 8 out of concern for the health, safety and welfare of students and the public, according to the chair of the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

In a June 12 text to the Citizen Times, Murray said he had not received "preliminary facts/evidence as of yet" from the SBI but expected to get them this week.

A spokesperson for the SBI had said in a June 7 message to the Citizen Times that the state agency received a request from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office about the possible need for a criminal investigation.

"We are consulting with the District Attorney’s office and are awaiting their decision. We have not initiated an investigation at this time," SBI spokesperson Anjanette Grube said. Grube did not respond to June 12 messages seeking further comment.

There had been one criminal complaint in November about the program by a student who alleged he was assaulted by a trainer from the sheriff's office, but the DA and Hendersonville Police Department said the complaint was unfounded and did not press charges. The deputy is currently working and remains in good standing, Sheriff Lowell Griffin has said. There had been no other criminal allegations associated with the program.

But the training standards commission has taken administrative actions, saying there were "egregious rule violations related to the BLET Subject Control Arrest Techniques block of instruction." Commission members voted unanimously to suspend both the program and six trainers May 8, according to meeting minutes. Officials have declined to give many details about the violations or say if anyone was injured — though training standards commission Chair Chris Blue said the action was taken out of concern for the “health, safety and welfare of students and the public."

Blue and others have declined to name the trainers, citing the ongoing administrative investigation. The six trainers are set to appear in August before the commission, which has the power to sanction officers up to revoking law enforcement certification.

Griffin, the Henderson County sheriff, told the Citizen Times June 5 that none of his deputies were among the six suspended trainers.

A spokesperson for Blue Ridge Community College said June 12 no one was available who could comment. The college has said it first shut down the BLET program last fall due to "concerning conditions and actions of certain instructors." It reopened the program in spring 2024 after consulting with the training standards commission. But the program was soon shuttered again, following the commission's vote.

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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: DA, NC investigators weigh criminal probe of college police training