Sheriff Under Investigation For Racist Comments About Black Deputies, Threatened to Fire Them

A North Carolina sheriff is currently under fire after a racist recording leaked of him calling his Black employee’s derogatory names. The sheriff also said they should be fired. Several Balck officers in leadership were later fired or demoted. 

NBC affiliate WECT-TV published the recording where Sheriff Jody Greene can be using racist language while referencing his Black deputies. He went on to say that he believed they were only loyal to the previous sheriff Lewis Hatcher, who is Black. Greene took over for Hatcher, who was the first black sheriff in Columbus County back in 2018. Greene beat Hatcher out just by 43 votes.

“F–k them Black bastards,” Greene stated in February 2019 during a phone call with then-interim chief Jason Soles. “They think I’m scared? They’re stupid. I don’t know what else to do with them, so it’s just time to clean them out.”

Racist Sheriff Threatens To Fire All Black Deputies

He was also recorded stating, “Every Black that I know, you need to fire…him to start with, he’s a snake.” The Colombus County Sheriff released a statement through Facebook claiming the recording of the phone call made in February 2019 obtained by WECT-TV had been edited. But, Greene has not denied the statement nor the comments he made. He did admit that he used racist language but quickly denied racist intent.

The news station also stated that two Black officers of high ranking officers were reportedly fired. There was also a lieutenant that was demoted after Greene was sworn in. Another Black sergeant came out and said he was also fired shortly after Greene was elected. Several Black deputies remain in the sheriff’s office in positions that are level of the command staff. 

Columbus County Sheriff’s Office

The timing of the leaked phone call is also raising several eyebrows. This after the audio was released by then intern chief Jason Soles. Soles told the news station that he documented the calls due to the alarming language that Greene had used. 

Soles is currently running against Greene for his seat. An investigation of the recordings is currently underway by the State Bureau of Investigation.