New sheriffs take over in Wake, Durham counties

"God saw fit, and I'm grateful," Baker said, crediting a higher power for achieving his goal after working in the Wake County Sheriff's Office for 28 years. "I've been preparing for this job a long time. Little do a lot of people know, I'm more prepared right now than you think I am."

The new leadership will bring changes to the sheriff's office, he promised.

"There's going to be some changes, yes, but it's going to be for the benefit of the county, not me," he said.

Two specific changes he mentioned were to add staff at the county jail and better train them and to stop participating in the federal 287(g) program in which the county checks the immigration status of people who are arrested.

"Get it properly staffed," he said of the jail. "That's the most important thing because that's what controls everything. If it's understaffed, that leaves the door open for incidents."

The 287(g) program hurts deputies' relationships with the Latino community, Baker said.

"They refused to call because they were more concerned about someone in their community being deported than us coming and helping them with a major situation they were having," he said.

"We will immediately begin to fix and work at that relationship, building that bridge back with that community so they will feel like anyone else," he said. "They will feel like they have a sheriff's office, they have a voice, they have someone they can call when they need help."

Baker also said he believes Harrison's administration made decisions based on race, and he wants to remedy that.

"It's always going to be about right and wrong, not black and white or brown," he said. "We're going to get in and re-establish the integrity, the character and the accountability that's been lost inside that office."

Later, he elaborated by way of an example: "When you have two officers, for example, who violate the same policy and are different races and they're handled differently. So, I think you know exactly what I'm speaking of."

Harrison responded by saying, "He’s the new sheriff. Let him do what he thinks is right. Let’s see what happens. I wish him the best."

New Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead also has promised not to participate in the 287(g) program.