The Mathews Branch NAACP has called for an independent investigation following an incident in which county supervisor the Rev. Dr. Melissa Mason was reported to have been followed by a Mathews County Sheriff’s Office deputy in an attempt to determine her residency.

The NAACP branch “protests in the strongest possible terms the reported action,” the statement from president Edith Turner read.

“It was after dark when Dr. Mason was followed by a deputy in a car,” Turner’s statement continued. “She was not aware that she was being followed at the time and has only recently been informed that it happened.

“It shocks the conscience of freedom loving people to know that an elected official, who is a Black woman driving alone and who has committed no crime nor been accused of a crime, was followed across county lines by a deputy from the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office. No explanation has been offered as to why this occurred.

“Is this a common practice of our sheriff’s office or w...