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Washington County deputy fired after violent arrest had murky past

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carolinapublicpress.org – Lucas Thomae – 2025-01-31 08:00:00

Eastern NC deputy fired after violent arrest was a ‘wandering officer’

A federal judge will decide whether two people have legal standing to sue after being brutalized by Washington County sheriff’s deputies in 2022.

A video of a violent interaction involving Gary Thomas Jr. and Mary Moore outside the courthouse in Plymouth shocked many after it was released.

Now, Thomas and Moore are suing Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Edwards, who was fired days after the incident. They are also bringing claims against officers who failed to intervene and officials for inadequate hiring and training practices.

Carolina Public Press learned that Edwards was previously fired from the State Highway Patrol in 2010. He didn’t work as a law enforcement officer for a decade before being hired by Washington County.

The incident highlights concerns surrounding “wandering officers” — a term used to describe those who continue to work in law enforcement even after being fired.

Washington County clash

According to the complaint, Edwards arrested Thomas for driving with a suspended license and marijuana possession during a March 2022 traffic stop.

Edwards transported Thomas to the Washington County Courthouse in Plymouth, where the jail is located. Deputy Brian Mizelle, who is another defendant in the lawsuit, met Edwards in the courthouse parking lot.

Edwards pulled Thomas, who was handcuffed, out of his police car and pushed him against the vehicle, according to the complaint. Edwards then forced Thomas to the ground and held him face down with the force of his body weight.

Around that time, Moore arrived at the courthouse with two other women to bail Thomas out of jail. Edwards and Mizelle had begun to drag Thomas towards the courthouse.

Moore grabbed her smartphone and told the deputies that she was recording the scene. She followed them as they continued to drag her nephew.

This image from a bystander’s cellphone, obtained by Carolina Public Press, captured the violent encounter between Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Edwards and Gary Thomas Jr.

That’s when Edwards struck Moore in the face, knocking her to the ground. He placed her in handcuffs as well. 

Edwards then took Thomas and Moore to jail. 

Jail staff refused to place Thomas and Moore in a holding cell without the proper paperwork from a judge. Additionally, they wanted a medical clearance for Moore, whose mouth had been bloodied from being hit by Edwards.

Thomas and Moore posted bail, and were treated for their injuries at a hospital the following day. 

A video of the incident circulated widely on social media and was the subject of local and national news coverage.

Edwards was fired by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office less than a week later. No criminal charges were filed against him.

The District Attorney’s office dropped all criminal charges against Thomas and Moore “in the interests of justice.”

Washington County agencies liable, lawsuit argues

In September 2023, attorneys from the National Police Accountability Project and a Charlotte law firm filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Thomas and Moore.

The lawsuit brings a deluge of claims against Edwards and Mizelle for excessive force; additional officers on the scene who failed to intervene; and top law enforcement officials in Washington County and the town of Plymouth for their hiring and training practices.

One revelation is that Edwards had been fired by the State Highway Patrol for undisclosed conduct in 2010.

According to publicly-available data, Edwards did not work as a North Carolina law enforcement officer during the decade between his dismissal and his hiring in Washington County.

Plaintiff attorney Keisha James said she believes Washington County’s failure to properly screen Edwards makes the county liable.

“The hiring procedures that they have in place are so deficient,” James said, “that it was almost inevitable that somebody like Edwards would be hired.”

‘Wandering officers’

The phenomenon of law enforcement officers who bounce between agencies after firings or resignations from their previous jobs goes back to at least the 1990s. These officers may work at upwards of 10 agencies over the course of their careers, never staying at one job for too long.

Often, these officers are able to continue working because they are rarely decertified by the state commissions in charge.

According to the N.C. Department of Justice’s revocation and suspension data web page, Edwards was still certified — at least as of Oct. 12, 2022. That’s seven months after he was fired from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The first systematic investigation of wandering officers was published in the Yale Law Journal in 2020. In that study, Duke Law School professor Ben Grunwald and University of Chicago Law School professor John Rappaport combed through employment data of 98,000 Florida law enforcement officers over a 30-year period.

They identified more than 1,000 — equivalent to 3% of all officers in the state — who worked for Florida agencies after previously being fired.

In North Carolina, the N.C. Department of Justice disclosed the employment history of more than 68,000 officers going back to 1973. That searchable database can be accessed using the National Police Index, a collaborative data project between several organizations.

However, that data does not include the reason for each officer’s separation from their previous departments. Reasons might include resignation, retirement, dismissal or death.

CPP submitted a records request to the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission seeking a report that could shed more light on the details of Edwards’ firing from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. However, the commission did not respond to the request before the posting of this story.

Additionally, Washington County officials did not respond to a request for comment as well.

Was this preventable?

Not much happened with the civil case until December, when Edwards, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and town of Plymouth each filed separate motions for summary judgement, asking presiding Judge James C. Dever III to dismiss the claims against them.

Edwards and Mizelle argued they are entitled to “qualified immunity” — a legal doctrine which protects individual officers from being sued.

Last week, the plaintiffs filed a response to the motions for summary judgement, reiterating their case for each claim.

James emphasized the importance of seeking justice not just from the officers involved, but the agencies that enabled that behavior.

“All of these failures at Washington County created a situation,” she said, “where something like that could happen.”

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

PETA sues American Kennel Club over standards for French bulldogs, other breeds

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www.youtube.com – ABC11 – 2025-07-10 12:44:35


SUMMARY: PETA is suing the American Kennel Club (AKC) over breeding standards for popular dog breeds like French bulldogs, pugs, and dachshunds. PETA argues these standards promote unhealthy traits causing lifelong suffering, such as bulldogs’ large skulls and shortened faces that impede breathing. The lawsuit cites UK research showing French bulldogs have poorer health, and notes the Netherlands banned breeding short-nosed dogs. Dachshunds’ long backs and short legs also lead to painful conditions. The AKC rejects PETA’s claims, stating it is committed to dogs’ health and well-being. This lawsuit continues a long-standing conflict between PETA and the AKC.

The animal rights group PETA sued Tuesday to try to force the American Kennel Club to abandon the standards it backs for hyper-popular French bulldogs and some other breeds, contending that the influential club is promoting unhealthy physical features.

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Boil water notice lifted in Hillsborough

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www.youtube.com – WRAL – 2025-07-09 19:50:45


SUMMARY: Hillsboro has lifted its boil water advisory, but the city and nearby Mebban still face water challenges following heavy rain from Shantel. Mebban closed non-essential businesses to conserve water as their treatment plant remains unrepaired with no clear fix timeline, leaving under two days of drinking water. Hillsboro’s plant was overwhelmed, causing multiple sanitary sewer overflows and flooding, releasing 174,000 gallons of sewage into Kate’s Creek. Repair efforts continue, with the main clear well sanitized and refilling, but full testing delays reopening. Meanwhile, Hillsboro relies on water from Durham and urges residents to conserve amid potential further storms that may worsen the situation.

Hillsborough’s boil water notice has been lifted, but the town’s water system remains vulnerable as its main treatment plant is offline.

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AdventHealth makes its most public case for building region’s second-largest hospital, but has yet to ask the state for permission 

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avlwatchdog.org – ANDREW R. JONES – 2025-07-09 13:46:00


Florida-based nonprofit AdventHealth is seeking public support to expand its new hospital in Weaverville, North Carolina, from 93 to 222 acute-care beds. This would make it the second-largest hospital in western North Carolina and a major competitor to HCA Healthcare’s Mission Health, which currently holds a near-monopoly in Buncombe County. AdventHealth has started site work but cannot apply for the additional beds until October. The project faces legal challenges from Mission Health, which has appealed previous approvals. The expansion aims to improve access to specialty care and create jobs, but state certificate of need (CON) laws complicate the process.

Months before it can get official permission from the state, Florida-based nonprofit AdventHealth is seeking public support for a 129-bed expansion of its already approved 93-bed new hospital under construction in northern Buncombe County.

Coupled with an earlier, pending certificate of need (CON) request to the state for 26 additional beds, AdventHealth will be proposing a total of 222 acute care beds for the new facility in Weaverville, making it — if approved by state regulators, and if it withstands possible challenges from Nashville-based for-profit HCA Healthcare — the second-largest hospital in western North Carolina and the first major competitor to HCA Mission Health’s near-monopoly on hospital services in Buncombe County.

Mission Hospital in Asheville has 682 licensed acute-care beds. UNC Health Pardee in Henderson County has 201. The Charles George VA Medical Center in Buncombe County has 119. AdventHealth already operates a 62-bed hospital in Henderson County, according to the Proposed 2026 State Medical Facilities Plan.

AdventHealth in Hendersonville has 62 acute-care beds, according to the latest State Medical Facilities plan. The Florida-based nonprofit wants to expand its footprint in western North Carolina to a Weaverville hospital with 222 beds. // Watchdog photo by Katie Linsky Shaw

For months, AdventHealth, a Seventh-day Adventist nonprofit that is the largest Christian-based nonprofit hospital system in the United States, quietly has been pitching a proposal for the additional 129 beds to local leaders across the region. But this week’s public announcement of plans marks the first significant indication of AdventHealth’s vision for a much larger facility. 

The announcement, however, comes months before any possible official action. 

Applications for the additional 129 beds cannot be submitted to the state until Oct. 15, according to the 2025 State Medical Facilities Plan. AdventHealth, which owns more than 50 hospitals across the nation, has been gathering letters of support from town councils, health departments and residents in preparation for its application.

It’s already started grading work at the 30-plus acre site and is planning a groundbreaking ceremony later this year. When AdventHealth first applied for the project, the nonprofit told the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR) it would cost $254 million. Plans to expand the hospital will inflate the price, AdventHealth spokesperson Victoria Dunkle said. 

“We will be sharing the updated scope, scale and costs in the final application,” she said.

Though AdventHealth originally said the hospital would open by 2027, expansion and a complex application process make that aspiration unlikely.

Weaverville Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons said that although the delays are frustrating, the prospect of a large new hospital is welcome in this town of about 4,500.

“This is a positive development for our town,” Fitzsimmons said. “We’re talking about the addition of maybe as many as a couple thousand jobs as these new hospital beds are allotted, the kind we’re trying to attract to Weaverville.”

Service area: Buncombe, Graham, Madison and Yancey

Meant to serve patients in Buncombe, Graham, Madison and Yancey counties, the facility originally was slated for only 67 beds, according to the certificate of need application AdventHealth filed in 2022, which was approved by the state months later, despite competition and opposition from other big health care systems, including the HCA Healthcare-owned Mission Health system. 

North Carolina’s CON law forces medical facilities to compete when they want to expand, add services, or buy expensive equipment. Organizations apply for projects and the state decides whether they are necessary.

In 2024 Advent added an application for 26 more beds to its original bid, bringing the total it was asking to 93. The extra 129 beds proposed this week would more than double the total bed count at the proposed Weaverville hospital.

“With 222 beds, the community will have more access to higher-level emergency and specialty care and more choices for how and where to receive this advanced care,” the release said, touting “not-for-profit, whole-person care” and “the growing needs of our region.”

An artist’s rendering shows what AdventHealth’s planned 222-acute-care-bed hospital in north Buncombe could look like when it opens in the coming years. // Photo credit: AdventHealth

Though a thumbs-up from the DHSR, the entity responsible for approving applications, is the first step to getting those beds, it’s hardly the last. CON law allows other hospitals to appeal the DHSR decision repeatedly, which Mission Health has done with all of AdventHealth’s previous approvals for the hospital. Last month an appellate court judge ruled against HCA-Mission’s most recent challenge to the 67-bed bid, which the DHSR approved more than three years ago. 

Mission Health spokesperson Katie Czerwinski declined comment on Mission’s appeals. She did not respond to a question about whether Mission would also apply for the 129 beds come October.

HCA also challenges 26-bed AdventHealth award

AdventHealth’s announcement Monday highlighted  the North Carolina Court of Appeals decision to finally greenlight the 67 beds, opposing Mission Health’s contention since 2022 that it didn’t get a fair shake in the CON process. Both Mission and Novant Health tried to win the beds that year.

“AdventHealth is grateful for the North Carolina Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold the State’s approval of our CON application for a 67-bed hospital in Buncombe County,” the news release said.

Because of CON laws and Mission’s legal contentions, AdventHealth is far from clear to finalize its vision of opening what would be one of the region’s largest hospitals by acute-care-bed count. Although the battle over the 67 beds is over now, another one is waiting on an Office of Administrative Hearings judge’s decision. Mission Health filed an appeal Dec. 20, 2024, stating that AdventHealth’s 26-bed application was erroneously granted to AdventHealth. 

“By denying Mission a CON for the Mission Application, the Agency’s Decision prevents Mission from expanding Mission Hospital to meet the needs of Mission’s existing and future patients and therefore directly limits Mission’s ability to engage in its lawful business,” the appeal said.

AdventHealth did not mention the 26 beds in its release.

“The 26-bed approval is currently under appeal by a competitor,” AdventHealth spokesperson Victoria Dunkle said Tuesday. “That appeal is being reviewed through the Office of Administrative Hearings. Despite this delay, we remain steadfast in our commitment to bring these 93 beds — and the whole-person care they represent — to the people of Western North Carolina. We are confident that the State’s original decision will be upheld, and we continue to prepare to deliver on that promise.” 

An effort to repeal CON laws, Senate Bill 370, made headway in the General Assembly this April. But that effort may be overshadowed by a 2020 lawsuit brought by a New Bern vision physician, Jay Singleton, in the state’s Supreme Court, arguing the multilayered application process “has nothing to do with protecting the health or safety of real patients.”

Currently, 34 other states have similar CON laws.

“Proponents of CON laws contend that if excess health care service capacity exists, price inflation may occur to compensate for new, underused health care services or empty beds,” according to a summary by the National Conference of State Legislators. “Opponents believe CON laws stifle competition by protecting incumbent providers and creating a burdensome approval process for establishing new facilities and services.” 


Asheville Watchdog welcomes thoughtful reader comments on this story, which has been republished on our Facebook page. Please submit your comments there.


Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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The post AdventHealth makes its most public case for building region’s second-largest hospital, but has yet to ask the state for permission  appeared first on avlwatchdog.org



Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This content offers a straightforward, fact-based report on AdventHealth’s hospital expansion plans and the surrounding regulatory and legal environment. It primarily focuses on healthcare infrastructure development, regulatory processes, and competition dynamics without expressing partisan opinions or ideological viewpoints. The article presents multiple perspectives, including that of AdventHealth, its competitors, local officials, and regulatory authorities, maintaining an objective tone typical of centrist reporting.

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