North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper appointed a former member of the Bloods gang, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, to a criminal justice task force in 2020. The task force was established by Cooper via executive order following the death of George Floyd.
Kerwin Pittman, the individual in question, served 14 years in prison for his 2007 conviction related to a conspiracy to commit murder. Court records identified him as a ranking member of the Bloods during a murder trial for another gang member. Pittman was convicted in the 2006 drive-by shooting that killed 19-year-old Jamel Amiens Jeffreys.
Pittman, now 39, defended his participation on the task force, stating that his past criminal conduct occurred when he was a teenager and that he has never hidden his history. "I made decisions as a young person that had serious consequences, including spending more than a decade incarcerated," Pittman told The Washington Free Beacon.
At the time of his appointment, Pittman was employed by Emancipate NC, an organization that has advocated for police abolition. The organization posted on its blog in 2023 that "maintaining white supremacy has always been the goal of policing."
Cooper, who is currently running against former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, addressed the report by criticizing his opponent's record. The Cooper campaign stated that while Cooper focused on law and order, Whatley appointed a convicted child sex predator to a significant role within the North Carolina Republican Party.
Neither Pittman nor the Whatley campaign immediately responded to requests for comment.