North Carolina legislators say they want Charlotte officials to provide specific details about a fatal stabbing on a city commuter train last year, but their efforts are stalled by a judge’s order in the criminal case.
State lawmakers had summoned Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and city transit officials to a Jan. 29 hearing to answer questions about the August death of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian who prosecutors allege was killed by Decarlos Brown. The lawmakers also requested records and emails from Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriwether related to Zarutska’s death.
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Lawmakers have now postponed the hearing until Feb. 9, citing a federal judge’s order preventing legislators from releasing Merriwether’s records.
Chairmen of the Republican-led House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform — who are leading the legislative hearing — filed a legal challenge to the order on Tuesday, arguing that the order will have a “chilling effect” on their ability to unearth details of the case.
“Clear court guidance is necessary so committee members can thoroughly question Charlotte officials in light of recent tragedies,” committee leaders said in a Jan. 27 statement about the delay.
In letters, legislators instructed Charlotte officials to be prepared to discuss and explain violent crime, transit safety, and diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The committee is co-led by state Rep. Brenden Jones of Columbus County, the Republican House Majority Leader who has used similar oversight hearings to grill officials from across the state.
In December, committee members questioned Chapel Hill-Carrboro school officials about their compliance with a new law governing discussions of gender identity in public school classrooms. Also last year, committee members grilled the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner about delays at the DMV.
Representatives of the Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, faced questions about their security measures shortly after Zarutska’s death. In September, CATS officials spoke during a special meeting of the city’s Metropolitan Transit Commission.
During that presentation, Brent Cagle, the interim chief executive of CATS, said the system recognized there needed to be a new approach to security. The system is working to achieve full staffing, evaluate security staffing needs and invest in fare collection technology and enforcement.
Zarutska’s death has repeatedly been cited at the General Assembly as a case highlighting gaps in public safety, driving the passage of “Iryna’s Law,” a package of reforms aimed at tightening pretrial release rules for violent offenders.
A separate committee is conducting a sweeping review of the state’s procedures for treating North Carolinians who have mental illness. Brown, Zarutska’s accused killer, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered hallucinations and paranoia that his family hoped to find treatment for, his sister told CNN.
In a statement to WRAL, Jones said he hopes the court will afford the committee more flexibility before its Feb. 9 meeting.
“North Carolinians deserve the truth about Iryna Zarutska therefore the house oversight committee is asking the court to remove any ambiguity in order to ensure that the full story is told,” Jones said.