NC Sheriff who Called His Employees “Black Bastards” Resigns [Update]

Updated as of 10/26/2022 at 12:00 p.m. ET

The North Carolina sheriff caught making racist remarks about Black department staff has resigned after the district attorney petitioned for his suspension, according to The Associated Press. However, reports say he showed up at a fair last week, campaigning for re-election as if he stood a chance of maintaining his role as sheriff.

District Attorney Jon David previously filed a petition with the court for the immediate removal of Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene, per WECT. Greene had also been suspended by Superior Court Judge Douglas B. Sasser. Though, Monday, the hearing for Greene’s removal was expedited as he announced his resignation, per AP News.

“Jody Greene loves Columbus County and does not want to put the people he has served through this ordeal,” said his attorney, Michael Mills.

Interestingly enough, The News & Observer reported Greene attempted a re-election bid for sheriff at the Columbus County’s agricultural fair just days before he threw in the towel.

More from News & Observer:

But Greene, under investigation by North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation, hasn’t publicly acknowledged he’s been stripped of his powers. Instead, he’s flamboyantly pressing forward with his re-election campaign, bringing all the trappings of the office of the sheriff.

At the fair’s parade he steered a black Mercedes SUV at the front of the sheriff’s office convoy. “Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene” read the magnet decals on its rear doors.

Greene and his wife waved from open windows. The theme song from the TV show “Cops” blared: “Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when they come for you?”

It’s unclear if Greene can still go back up for the bid for sheriff. The Root could not get in contact with the sheriff’s office to clarify.

Let’s recap where all this hoopla came from anyway. Greene was caught on a recorded phone call threatening to fire all the “Black bastards” in the department. Per the phone call recording, Greene was pretty confident that he’d be able to exercise his power as “motherf*cking sheriff” to clean out the department of “every Black he knows.” After the racist tangent was leaked to local news, it spread like wildfire as residents demanded he get the boot.

Not to mention, the county residents didn’t seem to want Greene in office in the first place and protested his appointment, WECT previously reported. Now they have another reason to believe he doesn’t deserve his title, though, he does have a few potential voters.