A bitter public dispute is unfolding online between Pitt County’s top law enforcement official and a county commissioner. Sheriff Paula Dance and Commissioner Gary Weaver are clashing over public records tied to the death of K-9 Chilli, a bomb-detection dog that died in a hot patrol vehicle on June eleventh.
Sheriff Dance published a social media post accusing Commissioner Weaver of malfeasance. She claims Weaver unlawfully bypassed protocol by directing the county IT department to access the Sheriff’s Office server to pull email communications. Dance warns the server contains sensitive crime scene photography and active criminal files.
Commissioner Weaver issued a public statement countering those claims. He says he submitted a standard, legal records request through the Clerk of the Board to review communications regarding the county’s K-9 program, vehicle assignments, and vehicle safety gear. The requests follow reports that the patrol vehicle lacked a heat-alert alarm, and that the Sheriff’s Office left nearly two million dollars in vehicle funding unspent.
Weaver says he has received no records and calls the Sheriff’s post retaliation for his inquiry. The State Bureau of Investigation is continuing its independent review into the dog’s death.
