Coty Wamp
Prosecuting violent criminals and “standing with law enforcement” will be two of Coty Wamp’s main points of focus should she win the 2022 district attorney race against incumbent DA Neal Pinkston. On a rainy Monday afternoon, she told the Pachyderm Club audience populated by elected officials, law enforcement and attorneys, about her plans for the DA’s office. She said creating a gang and violent crime unit would be a top priority.
“I don’t think they can go out there and look like police officers with swat vests and guns on them,” Ms. Wamp said. “I think they have to go out in the community and get to know people and start to know names and be able to stop cars and know who is in it and have a conversation with them. It’s about knowing the inner city before we police the inner city.”
She said, “Our current district attorney’s office is very diverse, and our gang and violent crime unit would be a majority of African-American investigators, because that’s what our inner city needs.”
Ms. Wamp, who is the sister of county mayor candidate Weston Wamp and daughter of former Congressman Zach Wamp, asked for voters to judge her based on her own merit, rather than by her familial connections. Coty Wamp has served as a public defender and prosecutor.
She stated of her brother, “His race is very different than mine, and we’ve taken different paths. I hope the county feels comfortable voting for Weston and not me, or me and not Weston. I’m just going to ask for us to be based on our platform and what we’ve done, and not based on our last name.”
Ms. Wamp, who currently is special counsel to Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, said she would support law enforcement, and wanted officers to know she was on their side. Sheriff Hammond and Chief Deputy Austin Garrett were in attendance.
“I am on the side of law enforcement and will continue to be on the side of law enforcement,” Ms. Wamp said. “I’m in no way an advocate for police officers who go out and commit crimes. But being a police officer requires hand on hand contact with people. The job naturally requires a more hands-on approach, and it’s adversarial. I want our officers to know that you need to treat people with respect, but I have your back no matter what.”
Ms. Wamp also said she supports treating juveniles facing violent charges more harshly than the current district attorney. She said harsher sentences would be a “deterrent” for children who may consider committing crimes.
“My office would be called to look at these violent cases and send more of them to criminal court to be tried as adults. The key word is deterrence. How are we going to deter a 16-year-old from shooting another 16-year-old? We have to let them know their punishment is not going to be a slap on the wrist, but that they could see the same punishment as someone who is 25 years old.”
“I’d like to be the leader of the entire cause, so when I bring the mayor or someone from the school board to the table, I want them to know the problems the DA is encountering or what problems juvenile court is encountering. I mentioned the school system because I think we could create programs like the old D.A.R.E program where we could affect children in our schools.”
Ms. Wamp said bringing in more prosecutors would also be a top priority for her office. She said there would be dedicated prosecutors for domestic violence and child sexual abuse cases, and that there are people within the current DA’s office who would be interested in serving as a more specialized prosecutor.
She did say that she would re-arrange the DA’s office, and get rid of programs such as the existing social services program. She said there are other agencies who provide similar services, and that the DA’s office should be focused on only prosecuting cases. Ms. Wamp also said there are other agencies who can look into cold cases, and that she would be doing away with the cold case unit.
“That’s just not the role of the district attorney’s office,” Ms. Wamp said. “I’m extremely proud of, and meet with all of the agencies in town who do that exact same thing. One of the people who does that is Sheriff Hammond. There are re-entry programs in the jail that seek to have people who never come back there.”
Ms. Wamp said her office would pour most of its resources into prosecuting violent crime, and so smaller misdemeanors and what she called “victimless crimes” would not receive the same level of scrutiny. She said the district attorney’s office would also seek alternative sentences in an attempt to have fewer inmates at Silverdale jail.
“If there’s a victim in a case, I’m putting that in the serious cases we can’t afford to negotiate on,” Ms. Wamp said. “But there’s a whole other section of offenses, like public intoxication or low-level drug offenses. The crimes that don’t have victims, we will give less attention to while we give more attention to our violent crimes.”
She said some of her plans could be implemented within a year of her becoming district attorney.
“We could see a gang and violent crime unit by the end of next year. I do have an eight-year term, because it gives you time to start programs and have priorities you can see through. Some of these changes can be quick if someone commits to them.”