Quarla Blackwell says Kinston Police lied on her name
The Kinston Police Department in North Carolina is under fire after blatantly lying earlier this week about the whereabouts and actions of city council candidate Quarla Blackwell, who was wanted on charges of perjury and false swearing on her candidacy form.
Blackwell says the charges and police narrative are politically motivated. The incident traces back to a petition filed in July, by Sean Keenan, a Kinston attorney and chair of the Lenoir County Republican Party, alleging Blackwell was still on probation when she filed to run for Kinston City Council. But Blackwell says the truth is being twisted to silence her call for change in the city.
Speaking to The North Carolina Beat, Blackwell said she was simply trying to go play bingo on Tuesday evening:
“I was bored, and I wanted to go play bingo,” she said. “I called a few friends to see what they were doing, but nobody answered, so I was gonna go by myself.”
She said after stopping by the Circle K on Vernon, one of her friends finally called her back and asked to be picked up. As she headed to her friend’s house, Blackwell said her phone started blowing up.
“By the time I got to her house, my cameras was going off, phone was ringing profusely, I looked at my camera and it’s about 10 cars of police at my door,” she said.
Blackwell said she called the Kinston Police Department non-emergency line to find out what was going on. A friend who lived nearby checked on her house to ensure the door was still locked—only to be stopped by officers on the scene.
“She was backing out, they [Kinston PD] pulled her,” Blackwell told us.
She said her friend called her on video chat and told her that the officers needed to speak with her. Quarla said a KPD officer joined the video call through her friend’s phone and asked to meet with her in person.
“I said I don’t trust you motherfuckers, you motherfuckers might be done set up a murder on me,” she told The North Carolina Beat.
Shortly after that, Blackwell said she saw a disturbing post on the Kinston Police Department’s Facebook page falsely claiming she had turned herself in to the magistrate’s office but fled before officers arrived.
“Blackwell turned herself into the magistrate office, however she fled before officers arrived. She remains wanted,” the original post stated.
Blackwell said the State Board of Elections had already informed her earlier in the week about an investigation and she said they called her.
“They said they normally don’t call, but there were ‘too many non-factors’ in my case,” Blackwell said.
On Wednesday, attorneys for the board called Blackwell back to officially close the matter. In an audio recording Blackwell shared with The North Carolina Beat, a board attorney is heard saying:
“There wasn’t enough to show intent, so we closed it in-house and it will not be sent to the prosecutor’s office.”
They also confirmed that what Kinston PD is doing by bringing their own charges is entirely separate and not connected to the State Board’s decision.
After facing backlash, the Kinston Police Department walked back their false claim.
According to KPD, Blackwell had contacted the 911 call center to inform them she was planning to turn herself in, but the information was relayed as if she was already there. When officers arrived and she wasn’t present, the confusion sparked the misleading social media post…is KPD’s explanation.
The agency has since issued a public apology to Blackwell and the community in the comment section on their Facebook page.
Kinston Police Apologizes To Quarla Blackwell
Still, Blackwell isn’t convinced this was an honest mistake.
