The sheriff’s department is the oldest institution of law enforcement in the United States. And still today, they get a lot of respect in their communities.
One of the longest serving sheriffs in North Carolina is Terry Johnson in Alamance County. Johnson’s involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE is admired by many of his constituents, but feared by others.
Dilsey Davis produced this video for Independent Lens, in association with Leoneda Inge and WUNC. The "Tale of Two North Carolina Rural Sheriffs" tells the story of two sheriffs and their choices to manage growing jail populations.