Video shows Florida deputy fatally shoot armed man whose brother lay dying after hotel altercation
The Orange County Sheriff's Office released body camera video of the Aug. 6 shooting in Orlando of Bryan Richardson, whose brother, Dylan Jimenez, was fatally wounded nearby.www.nbcnews.com
Two weeks ago, Jody Greene resigned as sheriff of Columbus County, North Carolina, after it was revealed he made racist comments about Black employees in 2019. He said he resigned for his "love" for the county and asked for forgiveness as he went full speed ahead on his reelection campaign.
Court documents published by local NBC affiliate WECT reveal that District Attorney Jon David had obtained an audio recording from the State Bureau of Investigation of a phone call Greene was on. The court documents – a petition to remove Greene from office – say that Greene made the comments while he was suspended from office as the state Board of Elections investigated his residency status.
According to those documents, Greene was "convinced there was a leak in his office" that resulted in that investigation, and was heavily focused on Lewis Hatcher, the county's first Black sheriff, and Melvin Campbell, a Black sergeant, as well as other Black employees whom he felt had undermined him.
"I'm sick of these Black bastards. I'm gonna clean house and be done with it," a transcript of those recordings included in the documents reveal. "...They're gone. I'm telling you. That's as fair as I'm gonna be. ... if they're not with me, they're against me. And they're gone. ... If I have to fire every mother f***er out there, guess what?"
"I'm still the motherf***ing sheriff, and I'll go up and fire every goddamn [inaudible]. F*** them Black bastards," he continued. "They think I'm scared? They're stupid. I don't know what else to do with it. So it's just time to clean them out. There's a snitch in there somewhere tellin' what we are doing. And I'm not gonna have it. ...hell is coming."
The transcript shows Greene continued to say that Campbell and Hatcher would be fired, and that "they're gonna be guilty by f***ing association."
The call, according to Greene in a post on the sheriff's office Facebook page in September, was recorded by his 2022 midterm opponent, Soles, who he said was a captain in Greene's command staff at the time. Greene claims that Soles was "spreading rumors" to "further incite racial division...to pursue his personal agenda." At the time of the post, Greene "adamantly" denied "any racial intent or actions on my part."
He claimed that the allegations are false and "politically motivated," but apologized for his actions.
"This has been a humbling experience," he wrote on Facebook the day he resigned. "I am sincerely sorry for the disrespectful and insensitive words that have offended my friends, colleagues, and fellow citizens. I ask for forgiveness."
In that same post, he said he can't afford to "spend the next week fighting in a courtroom while we are in the middle of an election to preserve our freedom." He said that he was running to make the county "better and safer" for all citizens, and asked followers to "pray for the ones who trespass against me."
Upon his reelection, Greene posted on Facebook again, saying that the election was "extremely stressful" but that he is honored to be reelected.
"I promise I will not let you down, I am the Sheriff for everyone no matter race, color, religion, sex orientation, or national origin," he said. "Moving forward I ask for your continued prayers and support as we face new challenges in Columbus county. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart."