Alamance review finds no demotions or suspensions for Clayton, Long

A records review by The Alamance News found “there don’t appear to be any red flags in the employee records of two candidates for Alamance County’s sheriff who have previous work experience as law enforcement officers,” and that “there are no demotions or suspensions on record for either Billy Clayton … or for Shannon Long …” as both men seek law-enforcement leadership in Election 2026.

The finding centers on Billy Clayton, a retired North Carolina State Highway Patrol deputy commander who is listed by The Alamance News as “a contender for sheriff in next week’s Republican primary,” and Shannon Long, identified as a former Orange County deputy who is conducting a petition campaign to appear as an unaffiliated candidate on the fall general-election ballot. WXII television framed the Republican primary as featuring three candidates: incumbent Sheriff Terry Johnson, Clayton, and Dana Byrd Pasour.

The Alamance News filed public records requests via email on Friday, January 9 to three agencies: the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation for records related to Terry Johnson, the State Highway Patrol for records related to Clayton, and the Orange County sheriff’s office for records related to Shannon Lemar Long. The newspaper reported it “is still waiting on the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation to release information on the county’s Republican sheriff Terry Johnson” while reporting it “obtained information indicating no demotions or suspensions for Clayton or Long from their prior employers.”

Clayton has made modernization a central campaign theme, advocating drones, AI technology and body-worn cameras for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office and noting that deputies “currently do not wear body cameras.” In an interview with WXII, Clayton said, “These systems give you a real-time law enforcement tie that enhances your evidence-based policing. It enhances the database police, and it gives you the data you need to effectively be proactive and not always reactive to a crime and get in front of a problem.” WXII reported that only Johnson and Clayton agreed to interviews for its coverage.

Terry Johnson, who was elected sheriff in 2002 after 30 years with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, told WXII he values training capacity at his office. “I have one of the most, most beautiful training centers and nicest range I've ever seen. You can pull cars and do real-life situations. I'm stopping cars, et cetera. We have a drive and track where these officers, we can learn to drive. We have classroom space, and I can go on and on,” Johnson said on camera, and WXII paraphrased a Facebook post in which Johnson wrote that “the State Highway Patrol does not prepare you to be sheriff.”

The Alamance News noted it “made no similar request for Dana Byrd Pasour – a third contender in the Republican primary without any prior law enforcement experience.” WXII also reported repeated efforts to reach Pasour were unsuccessful.

The reporting published by The Alamance News and WXII leaves outstanding items for voters and watchdogs: the State Bureau of Investigation response for Johnson’s personnel records remains pending, The Alamance News did not publish personnel documents in its summary, and the newspaper did not specify the exact records or file types it obtained for Clayton and Long. Voters facing the upcoming primary and a potential fall independent campaign will cast ballots while one major personnel file remains unreleased.

For follow-up or to request copies of the public-records filings, The Alamance News lists its office at 114 West Elm Street, Graham, NC 27253 and phone 336-228-7851.