McDowell County Board Recognizes Sheriff's Office Community Impact Team After 32 Arrests

The McDowell County Board of Commissioners formally recognized the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office Community Impact Team for Operation Winter Freeze, a countywide drug sweep that produced 32 arrests, at a Monday meeting in mid-February. Sheriff Ricky T. Buchanan and Chief Deputy Nathan Mace appeared before the board to report results and to acknowledge the deputies and detectives who carried out the operation.

Sheriff Ricky T. Buchanan told the board the department appreciated the show of support. “We are truly grateful for this recognition and also for the board’s continued support of our work,” he said, adding a reminder of the demands on officers: “We are committed to serving the citizens of McDowell County. While the long hours and sacrifices may not always be ideal for our own families, its what it takes to protect our community, and it’s a commitment we proudly make.”

Chief Deputy Nathan Mace described much of the Community Impact Team’s work as quiet and persistent. “A lot of the work these men and women do happens behind the scenes,” he said, and he highlighted the department’s intention to sustain that pace: “We just want to be able to highlight this specific mission and let you all know there are going to be more of these moving forward- these guys are in the grind every single day.”

Captain Chris Taylor was named as the officer under whose leadership the operation was carried out, and Chairman Tony Brown congratulated Capt. Chris Taylor for his role in the effort. Commissioner David Walker praised the results for their potential community effect: “the work that you all have done to get these drug dealers off the street - there is no telling how many lives have been impacted because of it.” Commissioner Trisha Garner stated she was indebted to the Sheriff’s Office for their work.

Sheriff Buchanan and Chief Deputy Mace also thanked unspecified partner agencies for multi-agency collaboration that supported the countywide enforcement push. Beyond the headline figure of 32 arrests, officials did not release a list of names, locations of arrests, or details on seizures during the board meeting; they confined public remarks to the operation’s scope, leadership and the department’s ongoing commitment to similar initiatives.

The formal recognition occurred during the board’s mid-February session on Feb. 17, when commissioners presented the Community Impact Team to the full panel and accepted the update on Operation Winter Freeze. The department’s public statements at that meeting framed the arrests as part of a sustained enforcement effort under Capt. Chris Taylor and signaled additional countywide operations to come.