Welcome to Cops & Congress by Annie Dance
Working to shine a light on important issues within many levels of government, focusing on the Lake Lure area of Rutherford County, NC.
I’m Annie Dance, a deaf independent journalist, based in the Green Hill area of Rutherford County, North Carolina. Cops & Congress will aim to shine a light on important issues in various levels of government, with a focus on the Lake Lure, NC area, and North Carolina’s 11th Congressional district.
As of this writing, Rutherford County is a split congressional district, covered by Rep. Chuck Edwards, R, NC-11, and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R, NC-10. The map was court-ordered for the 2022 election. I’ve previously covered then-Congressman Madison Cawthorn. (Cawthorn lost the primary to Edwards.) I was the only journalist who captured his entire speech in Rutherfordton, in March 2022 (WRAL used my video).
"Cops" refers to law enforcement officers, who work for police departments at the local, state, or federal level. "Congress" refers to the legislative branch of the United States government, which is responsible for creating and passing laws at the federal level. As time and funding permit, I will aim to cover state issues.
Question everything. Why are certain laws created? Who makes our laws? Who enforces them? What happens when there is limited or no oversight? How are taxpayers impacted?
There are several ways in which cops and Congress may interact or overlap. For example:
Congress has oversight authority over federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This means that members of Congress have the power to investigate federal agencies and hold them accountable for their actions. It can get murky at times, such as this week’s hearing with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Congress also provides funding for law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, mainly through the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program. This funding can be used to support a range of activities, from hiring new officers to purchasing equipment and technology.
Some members of Congress may have backgrounds in law enforcement, either as former police officers or prosecutors. These individuals may bring their expertise to discuss issues related to policing and criminal justice.
Congress is responsible for passing federal laws related to policing and criminal justice. In recent years, there has been a great deal of debate over issues such as police reform, racial bias in policing, and the use of force by law enforcement officers.
Overall, the relationship between cops and Congress is complex, with many different points of interaction and areas of overlap.
More to come. Please share and support my work.
📰 You, the readers and donors make this independent, community-supported, public-service journalism possible. Help keep this newsletter free.
☕️ ⛽️ I would be grateful if you ”buy me a coffee or a gallon of gas” to help me inform you by covering the important issues of Rutherfordton and Lake Lure (and beyond) with funding! Donate here. For further inquiries, including tips, suggestions, in-kind support, or sponsorships, email CopsandCongress@gmail.com.
Follow me on X (Twitter), Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
About Annie Dance
Annie Dance has been a journalist since 2001 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Journalism from Manhattan College. She completed 42 credits for a Master of Arts in Communication degree at Fairfield University. Dance has been published in local, national, and international publications, including WRAL, Carolina Journal, The News-Times, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate, CTInsider.com, Hearst newspapers and websites, Today.com, New Canaan Patch, and others. She got her start covering police as an undergraduate student, following the 9/11 attacks in NYC.
She is the Founding Editor of Western NC Deaf Community, a public Facebook group, where she covers deaf issues and leads discussions for ways deaf people can get better access to news and information in the 19 counties of western North Carolina, spanning several congressional districts. She was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss as a child and is an accessibility advocate, especially for using closed captioning.
Dance has experience in government affairs, media, and public policy. She is a registered unaffiliated voter and strives for fairness, truth and accuracy.
Dance grew up in Raleigh and the northeast. She served on local and state commissions in Connecticut for several years before moving to Rutherford County, NC in 2020. She worked on local, state, and federal Republican candidates’ campaigns, including Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.
She aims to shine a light on important issues and hold officials accountable with Cops & Congress, focusing on police, policy, and public records in the Lake Lure area of North Carolina’s 11th congressional district.
This post was updated on January 10, 2024, to reflect my recent coverage.