Law Enforcement

North Carolina is launching a $20 million pilot program to take law enforcement personnel out of the process of transporting mental health patients being involuntarily committed — aiming to end the traumatic practice of having officers handcuff and transport patients.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners passed a vote to appropriate $16.5 million in funding for a new training complex for the Durham Sheriff’s Office.

Moore County officials cited the North Carolina "Castle Doctrine" in the death of Ramzan Daraev. The law allows residents to use deadly force against intruders on their property.

Authorities in North Carolina say a man was shot and killed after a confrontation with a sheriff's deputy outside of a hospital. News outlets report that the shooting happened early Monday in a parking lot of UNC Health Johnston in Clayton.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police on Tuesday released over 30 videos of the arrest last month of two people who claimed they were smoking THC-A, a legal, hemp-derived product with intoxicating effects similar to cannabis. All charges were dropped.

The new law was passed in the waning hours of the legislative session, but advocates worry it may go too far and hurt mental health patients.

Many manufacturers and distributors have been using loopholes to sell products that are far more potent than state and federal law intended.

In Durham County, the sheriff’s office has 125 open positions. About 100 of them are at the county jail. WUNC's Will Michaels spoke with Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead about why the vacancies persist.

The autism awareness training for emergency responders is part of a statewide effort.

Police say they did not find a bomb in the vehicle but possible bomb-making materials were collected from it. Authorities are trying to learn what led the man, identified by law enforcement officials as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry of North Carolina, to drive onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress and make bomb threats to officers.