Executive administrative officer and press officer out at Guilford sheriff’s office

The executive administrative officer and public information
officer have both resigned from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.

Catherine Netter, who served as Sheriff Danny Rogers’ chief administration officer, is no longer employed by the agency, the Guilford County Human Resources Department confirmed. The Rhino Times initially reported Netter’s departure. Max Benbassat, who served as communications specialist for the department, confirmed to Triad City Beat that he also resigned.

“Just personal reasons,” he said. “I hope the sheriff does well.
It’s time to move on.”

Benbassat said he plans to focus on his website design and app development business.

In a subsequent statement via Facebook, Benbassat said: “I was given an ultimatum — either take courses to be certified as a detention officer or leave. I offered to stay part time but that is not possible according to the leadership.

“I respect our sheriff and wish him the best,” he added. “[I’m] looking forward to helping him campaign in the future if needed.”

Benbassat and Netter both worked on Rogers’ 2018 campaign.

Prior to volunteering with the Rogers campaign, Netter worked as a detention sergeant in the High Point Jail under Rogers’ predecessor, BJ Barnes. In 2016, Netter was fired for violating the confidentiality of personnel files through the release of records as part of her effort to make a discrimination claim that she had been denied the opportunity for promotion because of her race and religion as a black Muslim woman.

Netter was a key part of Rogers’ new administration, and shortly
after taking the oath of office in December 2018, Rogers administered an ethics
code of conduct to install Netter as his chief executive officer.

Netter and former Sheriff Barnes frequently exchanged barbs on Facebook during the campaign and over the course of Netter’s tenure in the Rogers administration.

Prior to her resignation, Netter posted commentary on Facebook with a link to an article in the Rhino Times about a previous post about racism and the billiards game known as pool.

“This is a shoot-the-messenger tactic brought on by those
who have joined the Barnes bandwagon of hate since the day I returned to office
as my presence there destroys his very existence,” Netter wrote on July 8.

In the article published the same day, reporter Scott Yost
wrote, “Several people who contacted the Rhino Times regarding Netter’s posts
were critical of Netter, saying that her post displays a type of unfounded
racial anger and a biased way of thinking that does not benefit the sheriff’s
department.”

Yost’s article quoted from a previous Facebook post in which
Netter reportedly wrote about the game of pool: “The eight ball is the lead
ball and the cue ball is the target. The colors can be switched up but to play
the traditional way is the most racist thing ever where the black (8) ball is
targeted by the white ball (cue) and if any of his (black ball) other homies of
color die before he does, then the game starts over because he hasn’t suffered
enough.”

Netter decried the article on her Facebook page, writing, “Let’s see we have children caged at our boarders [sic] away from family, controversy with Iran that may lead to war, teachers marching for livable wages, daily shootings in our local neighborhoods, opioid addictions plaguing our communities, etc., and the topic of the day is my interpretation of the game of pool that mentioned absolutely nothing about my job.”