Rowan County Sheriff seeks tougher legislation following Cheerwine Festival fight
SALISBURY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Rowan County Sheriff Travis Allen is looking for tougher laws to hold parents more accountable for the actions of their children.
This comes after a fight broke out at the Cheerwine Festival last weekend.
Deputy Zachery Miles Holshouser and an officer from the Salisbury Police Department got hurt trying to break apart a fight at Bell Tower Green.
'A very good police presence was already there and what's interesting to find out is this took place with police watching in the park, monitoring the situation,' Allen said. 'It popped off so fast, so the juveniles were not even abated by the presence of law enforcement.'
Allen said Holshouser is in good spirits now – but had hip replacement surgery. It could be a year before he's fully back at work. He was sworn in as a deputy in April 2024.
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'Our deputy was hurt during one of those processes of trying to gain control, was fallen upon, fell on, crushed up underneath a pile with his leg kind of in an awkward position while he was wrestling someone,' Allen said.
Allen is a member of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association – and plans to go to Raleigh next week to start getting stricter laws in these situations.
'I think that the one thing that's left out of the system that is truly the piece that is missing is how we hold parents accountable,' Allen said.
Queen City News Chief Legal Analyst Khalif Rhodes says Allen could target criminal or civil liability.
'Typically, when you're in the juvenile setting, it is rehabilitative,' Rhodes said. 'You've tried to find ways to rehabilitate these kids so they can be reintegrated into society. What he was asking for was a secure custodial. What does that mean? They were arrested on Friday I want them to stay in jail and I want them to be held there until they can have their next hearing and then a judge can make the determination if they should be let out.'
Allen said this goes beyond two officers getting hurt.
'It's not just law enforcement that suffers from this, but it's the citizens of every community, every town,' Allen said. 'That system is broken because we don't hold the most important people accountable.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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