Why are SBI chief and Gov. Cooper’s office at odds? How we got here, and what to know
State Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Schurmeier complained to state lawmakers earlier this year that meddling by the governor’s office is harming the agency.
“I have done my level best to avoid attention, yet I feel called to be here today,” Schurmeier said at the beginning of his more than 100 minutes of testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on March 28.
Schurmeier said Gov. Roy Cooper’s top aides were blocking some of his hiring and promotion decisions and had tried to force him out of his job with unfounded claims of racial discrimination.
He asked the General Assembly for support in making the SBI an independent agency, by moving it out from under the Department of Public Safety.
“We need to preserve the independence of the SBI,” he said.
On Tuesday, the governor’s office will have an opportunity to respond to some of Schurmeier’s statements.
Cooper’s Chief of Staff Kristi Jones and General Counsel Eric Fletcher are expected to testify before the committee at 1 p.m. The SBI’s general counsel, Angel Gray, is also set to testify. Schurmeier said his relationship with Gray was so strained, he unsuccessfully tried to get her transferred out of his office.
In a statement Thursday, Cooper spokesperson Jordan Monaghan wrote that the governor’s office works to ensure agencies adhere to best practices and employment law.
“An independent law enforcement agency can play an important role in keeping North Carolina communities safe but as with any government agency, history has shown that proper procedures and oversight are critical,” Monaghan wrote in an email.
Schurmeier, who became director in 2016, was nominated to the position by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and confirmed by the General Assembly. Schurmeier’s eight-year term expires June 30.
On Thursday Cooper’s office announced the nomination of R.E. “Chip” Hawley to succeed Schurmeier. Hawley, the chief of the North Carolina State Capitol Police, would have to be confirmed by the General Assembly.
Who does the SBI report to, and how has that been changed?
Schurmeier ended up before the committee in March after reaching out to House Speaker Tim Moore’s office, he said, to report that he was concerned about the future of the SBI.
Schurmeier has been meeting with legislators and lobbying for change for about six years, he said.
“This is not a new thing for me,” he said. “The point that I make now, and I make then: Finish the job you started in 2014.”
In 2014, after two previous attempts, the Republican-led General Assembly moved the SBI from the Department of Justice to the Department of Public Safety, which runs several agencies.
At the time, Republican budget writers said it was an efficient and logical place to put the agency.
The North Carolina House of Representatives’ current budget proposes moving the SBI from the department, whose secretary is part of Cooper’s cabinet, to its own separate, cabinet-level department.
The bureau, which has an $81 million budget, has about 450 employees, including 270 sworn officers. It used to run the State Crime Laboratory, which remained in the Department of Justice — led by the attorney general — after the SBI was moved.
Under the proposed change, the State Crime Laboratory would be moved from the Department of Justice to the SBI.
What were Schurmeier’s concerns?
Schurmeier’s concerns included the SBI not having its own budget code and him having a poor working relationship with his general counsel.
His main concern, he said, is the autonomy of the bureau.
At times, Schurmeier said, the governor’s office has held meetings and invited DPS and other officials to discuss sensitive SBI issues involving personnel and litigation.
“I think the intent was clear,” he said. “To intimidate me a little bit and bring in people that had no business to be there in our business.”
At one of those meetings, Schurmeier said he was told by state officials that the governor would have a say in eight key SBI positions, including the four assistant directors, general counsel, a legislative liaison and a deputy director.
“I was told that these positions were his call,” Schurmeier said.
What are the allegations of racial discrimination?
During meetings with the governor’s staff, he has been accused of racial discrimination related to two different situations, Schurmeier said.
The SBI and Cooper’s office have not responded to public information requests and questions about these accusations.
Cooper’s office has said it has legitimate concerns about Schurmeier’s leadership.
“Our office has expressed concerns to Director Schurmeier about his leadership and the culture and practices at the SBI, including complaints that he alluded to at the General Assembly today and the need for an outside review,” Monaghan wrote in an email.
The first accusation of racial discrimination dates back to around 2020, Schurmeier said, when he met with the governor’s top aides, the DPS secretary and multiple attorneys.
The second instance came up last year. Jones and Fletcher, the governor’s chief of staff and general counsel, discussed racial discrimination allegations and asked Schurmeier to resign in two meetings in October and November, he said.
“The general counsel told me at one point that if you don’t resign there will be a big investigation by a large law firm,” he said. The SBI would have to pay for the investigation, Schurmeier said he was told.
Schurmeier declined to resign, he said.
They all met again on Dec. 14, Schurmeier testified. The tenor had shifted.
“I was asked if I wanted a second term,” he said. He was “flabbergasted,” he said, and declined.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 12:08 PM.
