A former Mecklenburg County detention officer who says she was fired after reporting graphic and unwelcome sexual questions from a captain has filed a federal lawsuit against Sheriff Garry McFadden, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Carmen Tillman worked as a detention officer for 12 years before her termination following an administrative hearing on November 28, 2023.
According to the lawsuit, detailed by the Charlotte Observer, Tillman first reported the harassment in March 2023, accusing Captain Anthony Durrah of asking her graphic and unwelcome sexual questions about her body, her sexual activity, her preferences, her bra size, and whether she would have sex with him. She reported the harassment to the department's chief of detention and asked the sheriff to place her in an environment away from Durrah. Durrah has remained employed with the sheriff's office throughout the litigation, the paper reports.
Tillman's complaints did not stop with Durrah. She also reported repeated sexual harassment by other male employees and supervisors, unequal access to training and promotional opportunities, restricted work assignments, and discrimination related to medical conditions including PTSD, per the same account. She also accused coworkers of consuming alcohol before operating county vehicles and of engaging in sexual activity while on duty.
An Investigation Turns Toward Tillman
Rather than resolving her complaints, the department forwarded them to the Office of Professional Compliance for investigation, and Tillman says department leadership disclosed her complaints to Durrah himself. She submitted a written incident report two months after initially coming forward and says she was written up repeatedly in retaliation, according to the Observer's reporting.
Tillman was subjected to internal investigations and was asked to submit to a polygraph examination, the results of which were inconclusive. The sheriff's department treated the reported allegation as a violation of policies concerning truthfulness, abuse of position, unbecoming conduct, and participation in administrative investigations, the lawsuit states. Tillman says she was accused of making up the harassment allegations and feared retaliation throughout the process.
Department witnesses acknowledged that Tillman participated in the internal investigation and answered the questions presented to her, but the Observer's report notes those witnesses lacked firsthand knowledge of Durrah's interactions with Tillman. Durrah did not testify at Tillman's administrative hearing before she was fired.
State Reverses Unemployment Denial
After her termination, Tillman was initially denied unemployment benefits, but that denial was reversed after a state review found she had not committed workplace misconduct. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 96-14.6, the NC Division of Employment Security can only disqualify a fired worker from benefits if the employer proves misconduct connected with work, defined as deliberate or wanton disregard of the employer's interests rather than unproven workplace allegations. That legal standard appears to have worked in Tillman's favor during her administrative appeal.
Tillman filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May 2024; the status of that complaint was not detailed in the lawsuit itself. Her attorneys, Jake Modla and Jill Lesley of Cromer Babb & Porter, LLC in Columbia, said Tillman was a dedicated public servant subjected to unlawful discrimination and retaliation. Sheriff McFadden is the only named defendant in the case. A Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation, according to the Observer.
Part of a Larger Pattern at the Sheriff's Office
Tillman's lawsuit lands amid a string of other legal and personnel troubles for McFadden's administration. In September 2025, Dr. Angelia Riggsbee, the former director of business operations for the sheriff's office, filed her own federal retaliation and wrongful termination suit, alleging she was fired in November 2024 after raising concerns about racial pay disparities and refusing to alter expense reports, according to WSOC-TV.
Executive-level departures have piled up as well. Chief Deputy Christopher Allen resigned in August 2025 after one year on the job, alleging in his resignation letter that McFadden created a toxic work environment through abusive behavior — echoing earlier claims from former Chief Deputy Kevin Canty, who quit in late 2023 accusing McFadden of running the agency like a “third-world dictatorship.” McFadden also paid $50,000 in September 2024 to settle a separate gender discrimination lawsuit from a former employee shortly before it was set to go to trial.
Former employees and jail residents have also accused McFadden of poor leadership, inadequate inmate care, and fostering a toxic workplace culture in Mecklenburg County. In November 2024, McFadden released a public apology video after an audio recording leaked in which he used racially charged slurs against staff members, prompting the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association to open an inquiry, as reported by The Charlotte Post.
Removal Bid Dismissed, SBI Inquiry Pending
Critics have already tried, and failed, to remove McFadden through the courts. In January, Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge R. Stuart Albright dismissed a petition filed by state Representative Carla Cunningham and four former sheriff's office employees seeking his removal, ruling the filing lacked required pre-approval from the district attorney or county attorney. The dismissal was procedural, leaving open the possibility of refiling if prosecutors sign off.
Following that petition and other public complaints from former employees, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to open an inquiry into allegations surrounding McFadden's administration, a review that remains active alongside the civil litigation. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 128-16, an elected sheriff can only be removed from office by a Superior Court judge upon written charges and a hearing for specific statutory causes such as willful misconduct, maladministration, corruption, extortion, or refusal to perform official duties.
The sheriff's office has also struggled for years with staffing shortages exceeding 100 vacant officer positions in its detention facilities, prompting state inspectors to warn about inadequate inmate supervision and leading the agency to temporarily hire private security guards, a strain that formed the backdrop of Tillman's 12-year career as a detention officer. Despite the mounting lawsuits, resignations, and the pending SBI inquiry, McFadden announced earlier this year that he intends to seek reelection to a third term in 2026, setting up a campaign in which workplace culture inside his department is likely to be a central issue for voters.
