On November 12th, the Durham County Board of Commissioners postponed a vote on a new training facility proposed by the Sheriff’s Office. The $18 million project would transform an existing firing range on Electra Road. The commission delayed discussion of the planned facility to a January 6th work session after the project was strongly criticized as a "cop city" by Triangle Stop Cop City, Durham Beyond Policing, and other organizations.

Between 30 and 40 residents attended Tuesday’s meeting to oppose the proposed training facility. The group was mobilized to county chambers by a November 11th Instagram post that got 1,400 likes, viral by the standards of Durham politics [1]. For comparison, mayor Leonardo Williams received 500 likes for an Instagram post about his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention [2].

Critics of the Electra Road project secured a partial victory about an hour into the meeting when board chair Nida Allam removed the relevant vote from the consent agenda [3, timestamp 1:19:00].

Allam also said, “For this item, I’ll request that sheriff Birkhead and attorney Lovelace bring this back to a work session again for further discussion and an opportunity for more information sharing with the community and the board” [3, timestamp 1:22:00].

The activists didn’t stir until Allam said, “Since this item is not on the agenda for approval anymore, there is not a period for public comment” [3, timestamp 1:26:00].

Existing firing range on Electra Road. Image credit: CBS17. 

At this point, people who'd come expecting to speak disrupted the meeting to argue with Allam and commissioner Nimasheena Burns. The board eventually gave a one-minute time slot to anyone who wanted to make a public comment.

Before the short speeches began, Burns offered her view of the issue. She suggested that Durham County law enforcement spending, including the $18 million project, has gotten too much scrutiny.

“A couple months ago, when it was time to do the hearing for this property, everybody voted on that public hearing,” said Burns. Later she continued, “And so today, something we’ve gone over three times, we’re pulling it [from the consent agenda]” [3, timestamp 1:24:00].

During arguments with audience members, Allam claimed that planning for the training facility had been public and transparent. She said, “This is an item that has been discussed several, several times. This isn’t an item that is being put on the agenda without discussion” [3, timestamp 1:32:00].

The News and Observer wrote that the Electra Road project had been “long-planned” since “at least 2020” [4]. In a paragraph describing plans for the facility as long-standing and well-known, the article provided a link to the Durham County Capital Improvement Plan. The site does include an entry for a “Sheriff Firing Range Upgrade” in FY2022-23 with a cost of $12 million [5, pg. 3, Goal 3]. However, the name, year, and cost are all misleading or incorrect.

The News and Observer quoted sheriff Clarence Birkhead who wished residents had raised their concerns before “the eleventh hour” and also noted that “there are no bathrooms” at the existing site. The firing range has been in use for forty years.

CBS17 repeated a Sheriff's Office claim that the project had been ongoing since 2016, but provided no evidence [6].

Rendering of proposed training facility. Image credit: CBS17

Political and media spin aside, public scrutiny and awareness of the proposed training facility was nonexistent before Tuesday’s protest. A major reason is that there wasn’t a single article about the project in any newspaper prior to November 12th. Given that fact, it’s a small miracle that community organizations managed to find Tuesday’s vote, understand its significance, mobilize a large number of people, and successfully delay the Electra Road project.

Although the $18 million facility has been postponed, a majority of commissioners would likely vote in favor if given the chance [3, timestamp 1:27:00]. With board approval, an existing firing range on Electra Road would be transformed into “a 10,000 square foot building with classrooms, bathrooms and magazine storage. The already-existing firing range on the property would be renovated” [6].

Public comment began ninety minutes into Tuesday’s meeting. Every speaker was opposed to the proposed training facility. Residents called project a “cop city”, criticized the conduct of Durham's police, questioned the institution of law enforcement, and called for more social spending of various kinds.

A member of Durham’s HEART teams, which were praised by many residents during public comments.

Image credit: News and Observer.

A few quotes from these remarks are provided below:

Carrie Medlin:

“I love Durham. Since I moved to Durham, the following people have been killed by law enforcement officers: Jesus Huerta, Mathew McCain, Raphael Bennett, Terry Lee, La’Vonte Trevon Biggs, Dennis McMurray, Frank Clark, Uniece Glenae Fennell, Kenneth Bailey Jr., James Earl Staton Jr., Jean Carolyn McGirt, Shaun Jeffrey Christy, Deshawn Evans, Ondrae Hutchinson, Darrell Kersey, Brittany Kittrell, Charles Walker Piquet, Stephanie Wilson, Raishawn Jones… [timer rings] … Erick Cano-Castellanos” [3, timestamp 1:42:00].

Maxine Eloi:

“I care deeply about the city of Durham and the people here and believe that we all deserve to live a joyful, abundant, and free life. The idea of the police began as a force to capture enslaved people and it has yet to cut this root out. That is the core of what the police stand for” [3, timestamp 2:00:00].

Elizabeth Arandt:

“I’m speaking out in opposition to the sheriff’s proposed training facility as well. I believe it’s absolutely vital for the safety, well-being, and basic human rights of Durham citizens to reject this proposal for a new cop city. This facility would serve to further militarize our police force and take essential funds away from meaningful public services” [3, timestamp 2:13:00].

Work Cited

1.     “Post by Triangle Cop City and others.” Instagram, 11 Nov. 2024, www.instagram.com/trianglestopcopcity/p/DCPSES_vo9v.

2.     “Post by Leonardo Williams and others.” Instagram, 23 Aug. 2024, www.instagram.com/p/C_CHenVu4hm.

3.     “Durham County Board of Commissioners Meeting.” YouTube, 13 Nov. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKfRfeEwpMs.

4.     Moore, Mary Helen. “Group Protests $18M Durham Sheriff’s Office Training Facility, Linking It to ‘Cop City.’” News and Observer, 15 Nov. 2024, www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article295464889.html.

5. “Capital Improvement Plan.” Durham County NC Transparency Portal, www.data-dconc.org/dashboards/capital-improvement-plan. 6.    Bokun, Ben. “‘Cop City’: Durham County tables plan to build $16M sheriff’s training facility after protests” CBS17, 15 Nov. 2024, www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/cop-city-durham-county-tables-plan-to-build-multi-million-dollar-sheriffs-training-facility-after-protests.