Internal Affairs

Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputies are sworn to protect the rights of all persons regardless of race, age, sex, nationality, religion, or political preference.

The men and women of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office take this charge seriously, and for that reason, we have adopted internal safeguards to discourage abuse of authority by our employees.

Our goal is to provide you with quality law enforcement in the spirit of community cooperation.

Citizen complaints often aid this office in supervising our personnel in a proper and professional manner.

This office strives to ensure that the highest standards are utilized in our employees’ contact with citizens. The investigations and reviews of the citizen complaints that are conducted by this office are important in maintaining those standards. It is my hope that all contacts you have with our employees will be of a positive nature. If you feel that you’ve had a less than professional experience, this office welcomes you to voice your concerns to us in an effort to help us continuously seek to improve and build upon the relationships within the community that we serve.

Sheriff Ennis W. Wright

OUR POLICY

It is the policy of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office to vigorously and thoroughly investigate all complaints against its employees. These investigations ensure the preservation of the public’s confidence in our willingness to oversee and control the actions of our employees. All such investigations are conducted in a fair and expeditious manner in accordance with established policies and procedures, as well as state and federal laws and regulations.

The Sheriff’s Office views all complaints against its employees very seriously and actively pursues investigations into misconduct. Therefore, it is essential that your complaint is based on fact. False reporting in an attempt to unjustly subject an employee to undeserved discipline or slander, or place their employment in jeopardy can result in criminal charges or a civil lawsuit by the employee involved. Any person, regardless of age, sex or nationality, who witnesses or has direct knowledge of police misconduct, may file a complaint.

Generally, complaints are filed through the supervisor of the employee involved. If you do not know the name of the employee involved, you may file the complaint through any supervisor or the Watch Commander on duty. A complaint may also be filed by postal mail or via email from a form on our website and a supervisor will contact you.

In most cases, the supervisor of the employee would conduct the investigation and report the incident through the chain of command. In more serious incidents, the investigation is conducted by the Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards.

WHAT WILL YOU BE TOLD?

Disciplinary action is not subject to public disclosure without a court order due to County, State and Federal personnel laws. You will be advised of the completion of the investigation but not the findings. In accordance with North Carolina Public Information Law, annual statistical summaries of Professional  Standards investigations are available upon request.


Employee Complaint

Employee Commendation 


Supervisor – Captain Melissa Hill – (910) 321-6753

Lt. Jay Yergeau – (910) 321-6814

SSgt.  Bruce Morrison– (910) 321-5419

Paralegal – Barbara Travelstead – (910) 677-5420

* Contact us via  Email.

Hours of Operation:  M – F 8:00am – 5:00pm

After hour emergencies should contact the Watch Commander at (910) 677-5432