Saffo offers to mediate police talks

Sheriff, police chief say they're open to dialogue

By Ken Little,

Staff Writer

Mayor Bill Saffo hopes to bridge the communications gap between Police Chief Ralph Evangelous and Sheriff Sid Causey.

Evangelous and Causey haven't spoken lately, and Saffo said Wednesday a face-to-face meeting might help clear the air between New Hanover County's top law enforcement officials. He said no date for the meeting had been set.

The mutual aid agreement between Wilmington police and the sheriff's office became null and void Tuesday. Causey gave notice on April 9 that he was terminating the cooperative pact.

On May 9, Causey wrote Saffo a letter.

"I have met with the chief and his staff on several occasions and have suggested ways in which we could work together. I have been rejected each time," Causey wrote. "The cancellation did not, and will not, result in increased danger to the citizens of Wilmington and New Hanover County. Despite everything that has been written and said, please know that the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office stands ready to assist the Wilmington Police Department on a moment's notice."

Causey also offered to meet with the mayor. Saffo said he plans to take the sheriff up on his offer and also invite Evangelous.

"I just want to make sure the cooperation is there, and if we can't resolve these differences, the lines of communication will be open," Saffo said. "We should go ahead and meet and talk about it."

Causey did not return two calls to his office Wednesday seeking comment. Evangelous said he did not want to get into details about the rift between the two agencies but is willing to meet with the sheriff.

"If they set it up, I'll be there," he said. "I'm always open for dialogue."

In a May 9 letter to Evangelous, Causey wrote he was "disheartened" when he learned that Evangelous had said the termination of the mutual aid agreement was "a sad day" for law enforcement in New Hanover County.

"While I do not appreciate how this situation was handled, I want you to know that the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office stands ready to assist the Wilmington Police Department at any time and any place," Causey wrote.

The end of the 2 1/2-year mutual aid agreement means Wilmington police officers driving patrol cars to and from work through unincorporated sections of the county may no longer stop drivers or enforce laws outside a one-mile radius of the city, Evangelous said earlier this month. In his letter to Evangelous, Causey said the "only aspect of our relationship that I canceled was a limited agreement which was meant to cover travel to and from the detention facility, and the service of process while there, by officers of the Wilmington Police Department."

In his April 9 letter to Evangelous, Causey said his office received citizen complaints about Wilmington police officers issuing traffic citations in unincorporated areas. Evangelous replied that Causey never provided him with the names of the officers or the nature of the complaints.

"It's our duty as elected folks to get them to the table to see where their differences are," Saffo said. "I believe in telling it the way it is and putting your cards on the table. I'd like to see them in the same room at the same time."

The mutual aid agreement was signed several months after Evangelous became police chief in 2004. There was talk about re-forming the joint vice and narcotics unit that was split up after a disagreement between Causey and Evangelous' predecessor, John Cease.

Causey wrote in his letter to Saffo that he had been rebuffed by Evangelous in suggestions for a dual agency gang task force, canine unit, traffic unit and boat patrol. Causey also offered cooperative training with the sheriff's office Emergency Response Team, a SWAT-like unit that became the focus of controversy after the Dec. 1 fatal shooting of 18-year-old robbery suspect Peyton Strickland in his home by an ERT member.

Saffo said it is his understanding that Evangelous and Causey have "policy differences."

"The police department and the sheriff's office are a little bit different. … It's kind of like taking the Marines and the Army and combining them. Who will be in charge?" he said.

There are obvious benefits to working together, Saffo said.

"Anytime we can use our resources together and combine our efforts, I think it's good for the community," he said.

Ken Little: 343-2389

ken.little@starnewsonline.com