North Carolina Sheriff Resigns After Racist Tirade Caught in Recording
Columbus County, N.C., Sheriff Jody Greene has reportedly resigned after he allegedly made racist statements against Black deputies.
On Monday (October 24), Greene’s attorney Michael Mills made the announcement during a hearing on whether his client, who was elected Columbus County sheriff in 2018, should be removed from office, ABC News reports.
“Jody Greene loves Columbus County and does not want to put the people he has served through this ordeal,” Mills told Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser. The News & Observer reports the announcement prompted applause from some in the courtroom.
RELATED: North Carolina Sheriff Suspended After Accusations Of Making Racist Comments About Deputies
Originally, Greene had refused to step down after he was suspended for making the comments on a recording that was published on a local TV station last month.
On the recording, Greene called some deputies “Black b*stards.” Sasser suspended Greene on October 4, said Bladen, Brunswick and Columbus county district attorney Jon David.
David filed a motion to have Greene suspended immediately earlier that day. He also filed a petition to remove Greene permanently with the hearing that took place Monday.
David has said that he asked the State Bureau of Investigation to probe allegations of obstruction of justice within the sheriff’s office. That investigation is ongoing.
Columbus County is home to 50,000 people and about a third of them are Black or multiracial, according to the Observer.
