Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s Controversial Appointment to Justice Task Force

Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat now running for Senate, made a controversial appointment to a ‘Racial Equity in Criminal Justice’ task force in 2020. His selection included Kerwin Pittman, a former member of the Bloods gang.

Cooper established the task force after the death of George Floyd in 2020. He did this through an executive order, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon. Cooper appointed Josh Stein, who was then the state attorney general and is now the governor, to lead the task force.

The task force consisted of state officials and community activists. Among them was Pittman, who was convicted in 2007 for conspiracy to commit murder. Pittman served 14 years in prison for the crime, according to records obtained by the Free Beacon. During a murder trial involving a Bloods member, Pittman was identified by prosecutors as a ‘ranking member of the Bloods.’

Pittman’s conviction related to a 2006 drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Jamel Amiens Jeffreys. The Free Beacon reported Pittman defended his involvement with the task force, stating his actions were due to poor judgment during his teenage years.

I was asked to contribute to conversations about criminal justice reform because of both my lived experience and the work I was doing in communities. I have never hidden my past. The gang involvement and criminal conduct occurred when I was a teenager and young man, at or before the age of 19. I am now 39 years old.

Pittman also reflected on his decisions, acknowledging their serious consequences, including spending over a decade incarcerated.

At the time of the task force’s creation, Pittman worked for Emancipate NC. This organization has advocated for the abolition of police, stating in a blog post that policing has always aimed to maintain white supremacy.

In his Senate race against former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, Cooper referenced Whatley’s past appointments when asked about the Free Beacon story. Cooper’s campaign highlighted his own law enforcement record, contrasting it with Whatley’s decision to appoint a convicted child sex predator to a significant role within the North Carolina Republican Party.

The Cooper campaign argued that while Cooper focused on crime prevention during his career, Whatley allowed a sex offender access to events with children.