CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tonia Cook, a former corrections officer with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, spoke out about concerns with the department following a scathing resignation letter from Chief Deputy Kevin Canty.
“I wanted to make a difference to be honest with you," Cook said. "There were a lot of assaults on officers. We were short-staffed and very short-staffed. A lot of the officers jumped ship because of the atmosphere.”
She said the sheriff's office has a culture of fear with Sheriff Garry McFadden at the helm. Cook worked with the sheriff's office for eight years.
"Because I spoke out, because I tried to get us help, I was targeted and shown the door," Cook said. "All heck was going on in the jail and he’s out in front of the cameras, making it look great, back behind the walls, it was not like that.”
She said she sent a collection of emails highlighting safety issues, but instead of solutions, she was met with separation papers. She said she's not alone and is happy the most recent resignation letter from McFadden's chief deputy came to light.
“It was hostile," Cook said.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake also told WCNC Charlotte that there needs to be a full investigation into the sheriff. She said she spoke with current and past employees about the culture. She said employees have said if you push against the Sheriff or challenge him, he targets you.
WCNC Charlotte requested further comment from the sheriff's office, which sent the department's original response.
“We are a great agency and we always have been,” the statement said. “We will continue to be a great agency and I am confident that we will be an even better agency tomorrow than we are today.”
Kevin Canty, a chief deputy to Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, has resigned from the agency, according to a letter sent to McFadden which was obtained by WCNC Charlotte.
In the letter, Canty takes several shots at McFadden, accusing him of running the agency "into the ground" and demoralizing the men and women who work there. Canty also accuses McFadden of being insecure and taking credit for successes while blaming others for all the problems under his watch. The letter cites alleged abuse of power, unprofessionalism, and racism.
"The MCSO functions like a third-world dictatorship with no one following the chain-of-command, which you openly and repeatedly flaunt and encourage staff not to follow," the letter reads in part. "This has resulted in pure chaos. In my 33 years of law enforcement experience with now four agencies, I have never witnessed such dysfunction. I have never worked in such a toxic and abusive environment and have never seen an agency head conduct himself in such a classless and abusive manner as you."
Canty went on to say Mecklenburg County deserves better than McFadden, calling his conduct "embarrassing."
"I have watched you marginalize and retaliate against not only me but against anyone who dares to push back against your endless onslaught of insults and condescending language," Canty wrote.
The sheriff's office responded to a request for comment from WCNC Charlotte with a statement from McFadden:
We are a great agency and we always have been. We will continue to be a great agency and I am confident that we will be an even better agency tomorrow than we are today.
The office said it could not comment on personnel matters due to state law.
Canty was sworn in back in February 2024, according to a post from the sheriff's office Facebook page. His resignation was tendered almost nine months later.