A year after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light-rail train, further violent incidents involving people with long arrest records have intensified North Carolina’s debate over public safety. The issue has become politically significant as policing, bail policy and the handling of repeat offenders feature prominently in the state’s US Senate campaign.

The North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, arguing that repeat offending and bail policies put communities and officers at risk. Zarutska was 23 when she was killed, and her family has also filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging there was no security guard on the train.