The North Carolina Police Benevolent Association Supports Lawsuit Filed by Greenville Officers
Aug 21, 2018
The North Carolina PBA held a press conference on Monday, August 21, 2018 in Greenville, NC regarding concerns of Greenville law enforcement officers. In response to egregious continued efforts to interfere with the efforts of Greenville police officers to enforce state and local law and to protect the citizens of Greenville, several of those police officers have filed a lawsuit today against Kandie Smith individually and in her official capacity as a member of the City Council of Greenville for tortious interference with their contracts of employment and obstruction of justice, among other causes of action. North Carolina PBA and the local PBA membership stand with these Greenville officers as they challenge the improper actions of Ms. Smith.
Plaintiffs Brock Flannery, Joshua Smith and Travis Brinkley were experienced members of the GPD gang unit who were targeted by Ms. Smith. In their suit, they state that Ms. Smith “wrongfully and without justification abused her authority as a city council member to pressure the GPD into taking disciplinary action against Plaintiffs, two of whom were fired as a result.” They are but a few of the Greenville officers who have found themselves on the receiving end of complaints filed by Ms. Smith for incidents of which she had no personal knowledge.
“The unprecedented and inappropriate personal attacks against our law enforcement officers by some local politicians in our state has caused a chilling effect on the law enforcement community,” said North Carolina PBA Executive Director John Midgette. “We are in hopes that this action sends a message to those elected officials who disrespect the rule of law and the men and women who risk their lives daily to protect it.”
North Carolina Division
