Family of slain officer blames Cheri Beasley, who defended cop-killing brothers

Democrats

North Carolina Democratic Senate hopeful introduced herself as a friend of law enforcement

Collin Anderson • September 26, 2022 2:20 p.m.

The family of a murdered North Carolina police officer slams Cheri Beasley 25 years after helping defend two cop-killing brothers, saying the Democratic Senate’s hope is ‘for criminals, not officers of the law’.

Beasley in 1998 served as one of the “lead defense attorneys” for Tilmon and Kevin Golphin, brothers who, a year before trial, killed two North Carolina police officers during a traffic stop after stealing a lending agency at gunpoint. Now the brother of one of the slain officers, Al Lowry, is sounding the alarm over Beasley’s Senate campaign, saying it’s ‘BS’ for the Democrat to portray herself as a friend of law enforcement .

“It makes me sick every time I look at her because I know she’s not the right person for the job,” Lowry told the Caroline Diary. “She is for criminals and not for officers of the law. … [Beasley’s] ad says law enforcement is supporting her. I do not believe it one second.”

Lowry’s comments mark the latest setback in Beasley’s uphill battle to defend her public safety record as she runs to replace incumbent Republican Senator Richard Burr.

Just days ago, the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, which has endorsed Beasley three times, announced that it was instead endorsing the Democrat’s opponent, Republican Congressman Ted Budd. The association cited Beasley’s decision to campaign with “police activist funding” – in June 2021, Beasley authorized a joint fundraising committee with Democratic Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, a self-described Democratic socialist which says “defunding the police must take place”. Budd is also backed by the North Carolina Troopers Association, which has endorsed Beasley in the past.

“With violent crime on the rise in North Carolina more than ever before, we need a senator who supports us and not someone who is supported by funding police activists,” said the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association president David Rose in a statement Wednesday. . “We support Ted Budd for the US Senate because he is the best choice for NC”

Beasley’s campaign did not return a request for comment. Beyond the Democrat’s decision to raise funds with Bush, Beasley has come under fire for her public safety record during her judicial career. As a state Supreme Court justice, for example, Beasley voted to lighten the sentence of a career criminal after the man was caught with a ‘weapon of mass death’ and stood down. on the side of a child pornography offender who used a technicality to reduce his sentence.

“People just don’t understand what she stood for 25 years ago, and people don’t change their attitude,” Lowry said of Beasley.