{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWillie Duran Armstrong serves as Chief of Police of the Town of Brookford, North Carolina [1]. He ran as a Republican candidate for Catawba County Sheriff in the 2026 elections [2]. Armstrong appeared on the ballot in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, where he received 1,652 votes; incumbent Sheriff Don Brown won the primary with 12,836 votes [3].\n\n## Background and education\nArmstrong grew up in foster care and group homes; his parents were involved in domestic disputes and struggled with alcohol and drug use [6]. He became an EMT at age 18 before pursuing a career in law enforcement [6].\n\n## Career\nArmstrong began his law enforcement career working for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the Statesville Police Department [4]. In early 2023, he was appointed Chief of Police of Brookford at the age of 24, becoming one of the youngest police chiefs in North Carolina at the time [1][4]. During his candidacy for sheriff, Armstrong was indicted on a felony charge of altering, destroying, or stealing criminal evidence in connection with a decades-old cold-case investigation; the felony charge, along with a related misdemeanor, was dismissed on June 11, 2026, after a judge found prosecutors had not proven their case [5].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [He's 24 and the new police chief in Town of Brookford \u2013 Hickory Record](https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/hes-24-and-the-new-police-chief-in-town-of-brookford-armstrong-we-have-the/article_eec8fd04-ae21-11ed-87ee-1704b6c0cae3.html)\n- [2] [Chief Will Armstrong has been endorsed for North Carolina Catawba County Sheriff \u2013 YourNews](https://yournews.com/2025/08/25/3792157/chief-will-armstrong-has-been-endorsed-for-north-carolina-catawba/)\n- [3] [Current Catawba County sheriff wins primary election with 80% of votes \u2013 Hickory Record](https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/government-politics/elections/article_93ba1f13-e5a2-4ab5-81bd-42d264650ddf.html)\n- [4] ['It's a blessing': 24-year-old takes helm as N.C. police chief \u2013 Police1](https://www.police1.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/its-a-blessing-24-year-old-takes-helm-as-nc-police-chief-M5AVOcn46JZI5W1K/)\n- [5] [Charges dismissed against Brookford Police Chief \u2013 QC News](https://www.qcnews.com/news/u-s/north-carolina/catawba-county/charges-dismissed-against-brookford-police-chief-in-handling-of-92-cold-case-evidence/)\n- [6] [Listen: N.C.'s youngest police chief on how his challenging childhood gave him the wisdom needed to run his own PD \u2013 Police1](https://www.police1.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/listen-ncs-youngest-police-chief-on-how-his-challenging-childhood-gave-him-the-wisdom-needed-to-run-his-own-pd-wu4drlnhhN8fXtxm/)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","county":"catawba","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Catawba County Sheriff"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Willie","fullname":"Willie Duran Armstrong","lastname":"Armstrong","middlename":"Duran","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Catawba County Sheriff","county":"catawba","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"catawba","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"catawba","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_sheriff","contest_title":"Catawba County Sheriff","county":"catawba","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"catawba","office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_sheriff","office_title":"Sheriff","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"5d5b01f627d3db6e"}