THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 29, 1994 TAG: 9410290189
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
A former town police chief will challenge an incumbent sheriff with 12 years on the job in the Nov. 8 election bid for Dare County's top law enforcement post.
Former Nags Head police chief Charles Dail said last week that he is eager to ``enforce the law with a lot of compassion and find more ways for the sheriff's office to interact with the community.''
Current Sheriff A.L. ``Bert'' Austin expressed nearly the same sentiments during a Meet the Candidates Night. The three-term Democratic elected official also vowed to continue the DARE program, which works with county schools and improve other youth crime prevention offerings.
Dail, 48, is running as an unaffiliated candidate. No Republicans are on the ballot.
Until January, Dail was a Democrat. He dropped out of the party specifically to run against Austin. He said he was fired from Nags Head after eight years of service ``basically, for running outside activities on the job.'' Dail was an investor in three other Outer Banks businesses while serving as police chief.
At Dare County's Democratic Party Convention in April, Dail supported County Commissioner Sammy Smith's bid for sheriff. Smith lost to Hatteras Island native Austin by a 5-to-1 margin during the primary.
``Sammy and I have been friends for a long time,'' Dail said when he decided to run in June. ``I didn't file my petition as an unaffiliated candidate before the primary election because I didn't want to confuse the issue.''
Dail has been unable to attend the Meet the Candidates Night sessions this month because his 31-year-old daughter recently died of cancer. He said the family tragedy has kept him from being as visible as he hoped. And he has been walking door-to-door lately.
``One of the first things I'd like to do, if elected, is form a special sheriff's committee with people from all over the county, from all walks of life,'' said Dail, who recently moved to Kitty Hawk. ``I want to find out what the people's priorities for the sheriff's office are. I need to get average citizens' feedback.''
Other goals Dail expressed include exploring the possibility of contracting private firms to deliver civil papers or implementing a sheriff's reserve force of civilian patrolmen for community gatherings and low-key crowd control situations.
``There are a lot of functions within the sheriff's department that other people could perform,'' Dail said. ``We could get more citizens involved with the law enforcement community, and we could save the taxpayers some money.''
A Portsmouth native who spent three years in the Navy, Dail moved to the Outer Banks in 1968 to become a Nags Head patrolman. He later became a lieutenant, then was appointed chief in 1976. After being fired from that post, Dail owned and operated Northeastern Protection Service Inc., a private investigative and security company, with Smith and Dare County School Board member Sam Twiford. Dail has owned and operated a one-man private investigative firm since 1987.
``Being away from law enforcement for more than 10 years now, I've had a chance to observe it from both sides,'' Dail said. ``I'm for programs that put deputies back on the streets. Right now, they aren't getting the job done.''
Austin disagreed. The 62-year-old sheriff oversees almost 100 employees, runs the new Roanoke Island jail and provides law enforcement in all unincorporated areas, including Duck, Colington, Wanchese, Hatteras Island and the mainland. Sheriff's deputies also handle security in the Dare County courtrooms. And Austin said they do a good job.
``I want to continue providing the best law enforcement possible with the resources I get,'' the sheriff said earlier this year. ``There should not be selective law enforcement. You can't have that and provide the people with good service.''
Founder and past president of East Carolina Bank, Hatteras Island's first and only bank, Austin also was a volunteer fireman and emergency medical technician before becoming a deputy. Last year, he was selected as one of two North Carolina sheriffs.
He currently serves as the second vice president of the state Sheriff's Association and is a legislative committee member of the National Sheriff's Association.
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE ELECTION NORTH CAROLINA DARE COUNTY'S SHERIFF'S
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