Title: Henderson County Sheriff · Republican · office bio In this role since: December 2018 (defeated incumbent Charlie McDonald in the 2018 primary; unopposed 2022) Current term ends: December 2026 Next voter decision: Nov 3, 2026: filed for a third term December 3, 2025 and appears unopposed (Hendersonville Lightning) · Election 2026
Surveillance record
Griffin’s office bought 12 to 13 Flock plate readers in 2025 for $44,150 with no commission vote, and defends them in the terms Flock supplies (Henderson County):
- “The Flock cameras currently deployed throughout our county capture a single point-in-time image… do not provide live video surveillance, do not perform facial recognition, and do not track individuals.” “Flock data is automatically deleted after 30 days. The sheriff’s office owns its data and controls who it is shared with.” “Every search… requires documented law enforcement justification.” (Hendersonville Lightning, Aug 18, 2026)
- “There’s a lesser expectation of privacy on a public road than in a private home.” “I think what you’re going to find is most of your middle-of-the-road common-sense people… really aren’t worried about it.” Cost cited at about $3,000 per camera per year; results claimed: 31 arrests and 23 stolen-vehicle recoveries. (Hendersonville Lightning, Aug 10, 2026)
Set “controls who it is shared with” beside his own portal: as of August 22, 2026 it lists 2,048 organizations granted access to Henderson County’s reads, including the FBI, the US Postal Inspection Service, an Air Force base, five state police forces, and every sheriff’s office in Western North Carolina (Henderson County). He does control it. That is the list he chose.
ICE
Griffin runs the only 287(g) agreement in Western North Carolina, a Jail Enforcement Model MOA signed June 9, 2020 (ICE list, Aug 21, 2026). His framing has been consistent since 2019: “The only authority we have is inside the detention facility, the jail.” “If you don’t go to jail, we have no standing on this issue.” (WLOS, Dec 10, 2019) In 2025 he said he would cooperate with ICE whether or not the legislature’s HB 318 passed (WLOS). The portal lists “immigration enforcement” as a prohibited use of the plate data; the jail program and the federal agencies on the access list sit on either side of that line (What the Law Lets the County Do).
Accountability items
- A federal excessive-force lawsuit filed June 15, 2026 (Allen v. Griffin et al.) over an April 2024 arrest during a mental-health crisis alleges a pattern of inadequate discipline; the office has not been found liable (Hendersonville Lightning · WLOS).
- No commission vote has ever been taken on the cameras; Chair Bill Lapsley has signaled none may be.
The question for him
Which of the 2,048 agencies on his sharing list has searched Henderson County’s reads, how often, and why? The audit log exists; state law requires an annual audit report (G.S. 20-183.31(a)(7)). Unopposed, he has four more years to answer or not.
Region: Henderson County · Last updated: Aug 22, 2026