Backing the blue

Fresh off comments from a majority of members of the City Council that salary increases for the men and women who serve in the Goldsboro Police Department were imminent amid what many local residents and leaders have characterized as a jarring increase in gun violence across the community — including a recent late-morning shooting inside Berkeley Mall — several GPD officers told New Old North they were taken aback by a vote Jan. 22 that required their chief, Mike West, to bring “real numbers” to the board’s next meeting so a vote could take place.

“I’m honestly disgusted,” said a veteran lawman who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “It kind of feels like a lot of these people got elected because they said they had our backs and it’s been what, six weeks or something since they were sworn in, and nothing. Every meeting it’s, ‘We’re doing it next meeting.’ I don’t want to say I’m done, but I’ve definitely lost faith.”

What the officer, and the five other members of the GPD who reached out to express their outrage at what unfolded Monday, did not know was that a majority of council members had been second-guessing the decision to hold off on the vote one final time since they raised their hand to approve the delay.

So, they were equally shocked — this time, to their delight — when council member Jamie Taylor raised the issue before the board resumed its recessed closed session Tuesday evening.

“You guys know I’m new here, but I do have a question about clarification of yesterday’s conversation about police pay,” she said. “Looking back at the video, when I saw it on the agenda, I was kind of under the impression that when we went yesterday, we were going to be able to vote on what we wanted to do with the Police Department and their raise.”

And even though the discussion revealed an intention to hold the vote at the board’s Feb. 12 meeting, Taylor felt the public — and, particularly, members of the GPD — needed to hear, definitively, that she considered increasing salaries to assist West in filling his department’s ranks Priority One.

“It just kind of hit home when I went home last night,” Taylor said. “It was hard for me to sleep because I was just worried that we’ve had three teenagers killed since October — three 17-year-olds — so, I just want someone to clarify it for me.”

Mayor Charles Gaylor responded.

The only reason the increase had not been voted on Monday, he said, was because he felt the board needed to see “real numbers” so there was “transparency” ahead of a formal decision being made.

“I did not call for a vote because I did not see a specific package with a specific number,” he said. “I can’t speak for anybody else, but I did not ask for a motion because I didn’t see a package with an actual number that we could properly digest and say, ‘This is what I’m voting on.’”

Gaylor also noted that City Manager Tim Salmon and Assistant City Manager Matt Livingston had recommended a 3- to 4-month pay study before proceeding with a vote — but that the council had shot it down, citing a need for more immediate action.

But that is not where the discussion ended.

Councilwoman Hiawatha Jones bemoaned the fact that the board had told the community police pay was its top priority, but “kicked the can down the road” by not taking a formal vote Monday.

And Councilwoman Beverly Weeks said she did not need to see “real numbers.”

“I could care less at this point about the cost. I want the citizens to hear me,” she said. “I could care less about the cost. Safety is of priority to our citizens. Get the Plan A. Get the officers hired. Get them trained and in place. There are people dying.”

Chris Boyette took it a step further — looking into the camera live-streaming the meeting and pledging that his “yes” vote is coming Feb. 12.

“I think that as soon as we get this in front of us to where we can vote on it, I can go on record and say or hold my hand or whatever needs to be done to assure the public that when this item comes up Feb. 12, I will be voting for it. I will raise my hand right here in front of this circle,” he said. “I was ready to vote on it last night, but what was brought to us wasn’t what we could vote on. We were presented with a 6-month-old plan that wasn’t accurate at this point. So, I’m ready to vote. I plan to vote affirmatively for that plan and I plan to ensure, through my say, my voice, my vote, that it be effective March 1.”

West has been banging the drum for an increase in GPD pay he believes would stop his officers from leaving Goldsboro for more money offered by neighboring communities since last summer, but met resistance both from Salmon and the majority of the previous council, which opted for a smaller raise than the chief recommended that did not stop the bleeding in the GPD’s ranks.

But public outcry has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks after a number of teenagers were gunned down, a shooting unfolded before noon inside Berkeley Mall, a body was found near Target, and staggering gun violence numbers from 2023 were released by the GPD.

A majority of the council has responded by vowing to do whatever it takes to ease residents’ fears — starting with the salary increase West believes will help him beef up the GPD’s ranks and return his special units, including the gang and selective housing outfits, to capacity.

Gaylor vowed to ensure the council will have the opportunity to do just that in two weeks’ time.

“I think we’ve made it clear,” he said. “Getting real numbers in front of us (Feb. 12) so we can make an educated vote that is transparent, so the public is fully aware of what we’re committing to.”

The message was received loud and clear by the six officers who contacted New Old North after Monday’s meeting.

“I feel a lot better about it now and I think what they said Tuesday is really going to have a positive impact on morale,” the veteran officer said Wednesday. “I don’t know if all that would have gone down if Jamie hadn’t put herself out there at the beginning there, and we won’t forget that she did that for us. And I’ll be honest, Beverly gave me goosebumps when she basically told the manager she didn’t care what the numbers were. They just fought for us, and we won’t stop fighting for the people who live here. And you watch. Once we get staffed back up, the people out here running wild are gonna wish they didn’t choose to do what they’re doing in Goldsboro. Give us a chance to get off patrol and do the real work and it’s on.”