Public Safety - The Daily Tar Heel

Hunter Bolesky (left) and Brandon Srinath (right) are the owners of Botana-Cart, a mobile botanical shop that operates in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area.

Mobile botanical shop Botana-Cart rolls out products 'of this Earth,' including Delta-8

By Sarah Choi | Nov. 15, 2021

Hunter Bolesky and Brandon Srinath aren’t average businessmen. They’re the co-owners of Botana-Cart, a bicycle-powered botanical shop. Their cart, which sports a marijuana leaf, serves the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area. Botana-Cart sells locally sourced, plant-based products from its cart, which can be spotted around Franklin Street on weekend nights, and via delivery. Among the company's product offerings is Delta-8, a cannabis compound.

The Old Well is pictured on Oct. 17, 2021

Editorial: UNC is asking the wrong questions about police on campus

By Editorial Board | Nov. 8, 2021

"The assumption behind questions about UNC Police’s presence and programming is that UNC Police plays some kind of beneficial role for UNC students and staff and with improved service and trust, UNC Police could make the campus safer."

Carborro High School is pictured on Oct. 27.

Suspicious fire set at Carrboro High School, 15-year-old has been identified

By Waverly McIver | Nov. 1, 2021

Carrboro Fire Chief David Schmidt said the fire was suspicious because it was traced to a trash can in a bathroom stall where there was no heat source. The Carrboro Police Department worked to investigate the cause, which led them to identify the student.

A gas leak on Wednesday has closed Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd between Longview Street & Hillsborough Street.

MLK Jr. Blvd. closed between Hillsborough and Longview streets due to gas leak

By Guillermo Molero and Rajee Ganesan | Oct. 27, 2021

The road on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has been closed between Longview Street and Hillsborough Street due to a gas leak, according to a tweet from Chapel Hill police.

A piece by the Daily Tar Heel's Editorial Board calls for police accountability and advocates for the usage of new technologies.

Editorial: Solving crimes with new technology should be police priority

By Editorial Board | Sep. 23, 2021

"Last week’s news brought a sense of closure to a case that has loomed over the Chapel Hill community since 2012. It demonstrated how important it is to clear the backlog, have police forces that actively attempt to bring resolution and peace and use community resources effectively."

Rolanda Hedgepeth, Faith Hedgepeth's sister, comforts her mother, Connie Hedgepeth, at a press conference Thursday. At the press conference, Chapel Hill police announced that an arrest has been made in the investigation of Faith Hedgepeth's murder in 2012.

Nine years later, suspect arrested in murder of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth

By Praveena Somasundaram | Sep. 16, 2021

At the time of her death, Faith Hedgepeth was a junior at UNC and had dreams of becoming a pediatrician. Hedgepeth, a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe, was an active member of the Carolina Indian Circle and volunteered at the American Indian Center. Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares, whose relationship to Hedgepeth is unclear, was charged with first-degree murder in the Hedgepeth investigation, said Assistant Chief of Police Celisa Lehew, the lead investigator in the case. No further details about the case were revealed during Thursday’s press conference, and the homicide investigation remains active and ongoing.

DTH Photo Illustration. Someone holds a can of hard seltzer which contains 5% alcohol.

OC Voice: The high costs of excessive drinking

Sep. 7, 2021

"The Campus & Community Coalition is committed to reducing the harms of excessive drinking in and around the University," Elinor Landess, director of the Coalition, writes.

Rachel Valentine, executive director for the Orange County Rape Crisis Center in Chapel hill, answers the phone in an office designated for first responses to clients on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.

Editorial: Sexual harassment and violence resources in Chapel Hill

By Editorial Board | Apr. 18, 2021

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and UNC-Chapel Hill is no stranger to the sexual assault epidemic that plagues college campuses. Here are some resources for those who have experienced gender-based harassment or violence.

Two students walk on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill on April 13, 2021

Tucker Frey, reported to harass women on Franklin Street, charged with trespassing

By Bethany Lee | Apr. 17, 2021

Frey was arrested Monday and charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor for trespassing. Chapel Hill has received 46 reports regarding Frey’s behavior since August 2020, and seven emails in the past week alone, Attorney Maren Hardin said during Frey's first appearance in court on Wednesday.

The Cedar Grove Ruritan Club recently had two new, yet-to-be-installed HVAC units stolen. The club had been saving up for three years to buy the units. Photo courtesy of Buck Curtis.

HVAC units stolen from historic Cedar Grove Ruritan Club, sheriff offering $1500 award

By Chloe Teachey | Apr. 11, 2021

The Cedar Grove Ruritan Club has been saving up for around three years for these units. Buck Curtis, a club member and former president, said the organization had saved up the necessary $15,000 to completely air condition the facility's gym when the two HVAC units they ordered were stolen.

Emila Sutton poses for a portrait in Durham on Sunday, Apr. 4, 2021. Sutton currently serves as Orange County's Director of Housing and Community Development.

These Orange County women help provide resources to the housing insecure

By Emmy Trivette | Apr. 11, 2021

On the heels of Women’s History Month, the Daily Tar Heel is spotlighting six women in Orange County’s public safety system who have helped each of their departments reform the old and create new protocols to aid the community. These women work to care and provide resources to those who experience homelessness.

Megan Johnson poses for a portrait at the Chapel Hill Police Department on Sunday, Apr. 4, 2021. Johnson is the department's Police Crisis Unit Supervisor and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor.

Meet the women in charge of Orange County's public safety system

By Emmy Trivette | Apr. 6, 2021

These three women focus on documenting and maintaining the portions of Orange County’s public safety system dealing with community involvement and mental health.

A City of Chapel Hill police car is parked on Franklin Street on Sunday, March 28, 2021. The town said that there would be more monitoring of pedestrian areas on main streets.

Chapel Hill increases monitoring of busy roads following recent pedestrian crashes

By Audrey Selley | Mar. 28, 2021

The Town conducted the first of these sessions on March 23 and March 27. March’s efforts focused on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where two pedestrian were hit in the last two weeks, one resulting in death.

Chapel Hill's Re-imagining Community Task Force hosted a Spanish-language listening session for community members via Zoom on March. 16, 2021. The Task Force aims to improve public safety and equity by drawing upon community perspectives.

Re-Imagining Community Task Force hosts racial equity, public safety listening sessions

By Kelli Rainer | Mar. 21, 2021

The task force, originally established on June 24, 2020 by the Chapel Hill Town Council, has been hosting a series of listening sessions for local citizens and communities impacted by policing to express their experiences with security and equality in the town.

Carrboro Police Chief Chris Atack poses for a portrait outside of the Carrboto Police Department office on March 1, 2021. Atack was appointed Police Chief after the retirement of Walter Horton.

Longtime Carrboro Police Department officer Chris Atack becomes new police chief

By Miller Ray | Mar. 14, 2021

Atack, who was appointed by Carrboro's Town Manager David Andrews, said his knowledge of the police department and the community made becoming police chief the next logical step.

Police line the streets of downtown Raleigh in anticipation of protests on election night on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.

N.C. Senate Bill 100 poses a threat for cities looking to reduce police funding

By Ella Layn | Mar. 8, 2021

The bill, also known as the Police Funding Protection Act, states any North Carolina city that reduces funds for law enforcement agencies by more than one percent of the city's annual budget will receive an equivalent reduction in state funding.

Students rush Franklin Street for the second time following UNC win against Duke

By Suzannah Claire Perry and Heidi Pérez-Moreno | Mar. 6, 2021

Following UNC men's basketball defeat of Duke, fans rushed Franklin Street for the second time this year. Last month, officers took over 35 minutes to clear the intersection. This crowd, which was substantially smaller, dispersed from the intersection for the resumption of traffic within five minutes. The crowd later regrouped for another brief period.

UNC fans rush Franklin Street after UNC's basketball team triumphs over Duke despite COVID-19 restrictions on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.

Town and University look to avoid Franklin Street rush after Saturday's UNC-Duke game

By Suzannah Claire Perry and Heidi Pérez-Moreno | Mar. 5, 2021

In an email, Victoria Hudson, the Orange County Director of Environmental Health, said she was unaware of any community spread impacts from the February rush — however, she wrote, this is not an excuse to lose vigilance. “Community transmission and vaccination trends are moving in the right direction,” Hudson wrote. “The recent Executive Order eased some restrictions on businesses. We have to stay vigilant to eliminate any actions that could lead to negative impacts at this time.”

‘Avoided a disaster’: Efland residents reflect on Buc-ee’s station, future development

By Henry Haney | Mar. 1, 2021

Community organizers in Efland rallied an opposition strong enough to fend off Texas gas giant Buc-ee’s. But what voices were left unheard in the discussion, and what is the future of development in western Orange County?

Rosamund Pike in a scene from "I Care A Lot." Photo courtesy of Seacia Pavao/Netflix.

Column: J Blakeson’s 'I Care a Lot' is a messy but watchable crime comedy

By Ryan Phillips | Feb. 25, 2021

“I Care a Lot” is an entertaining dark comedy, but feels shallow and overstuffed enough to keep the experience from being truly satisfying. (5/10)