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Buncombe detention officer fired, charged in criminal investigation

Buncombe detention officer fired, charged in criminal investigation

Cameron Blaine Taylor Photo: Contributed/Buncombe County Detention Facility


ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — An officer at the Buncombe County Detention Facility has been fired and charged following an internal criminal investigation, Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller announced Friday.

According to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, Cameron Blaine Taylor was terminated Thursday and charged with willful failure to discharge duties, a criminal offense under North Carolina law.

Taylor was booked into the Buncombe County Detention Facility at 7:40 p.m. Thursday and is being held on a $10,000 bond. Authorities said he is being housed at a detention facility outside Buncombe County.

The sheriff’s office said Taylor had worked as a detention officer for less than a year.

Officials declined to release additional information, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Miller praised the work of the sheriff’s office’s Criminal Investigations Division in pursuing the case.

“We appreciate the work our Criminal Investigations Division put in on this case that led to this outcome,” Miller said in a statement. “The work will not stop to ensure our facility is safe and free of any activity that jeopardizes the safety of our officers and our detainees.”

The sheriff’s office said no further details would be released while the investigation remains active.

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