A North Carolina sheriff who was suspended after he was caught on tape calling Black employees by derogatory names and said they should be fired, has resigned.
Columbus County, NC Sheriff Jody Greene resigned on Monday during a hearing to determine whether he should be removed from office.
“Jody Greene loves Columbus County and does not want to put the people he has served through this ordeal,” Greene’s attorney Michael Mills told Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser, The News & Observer reported.
Greene was suspended earlier this month until his hearing on the petition to remove him from office Monday. District Attorney Jon David sought Greene’s removal from office, alleging that he had engaged in racial profiling of employees.
Last month, an audio recording of an alleged phone call between Greene and acting Sheriff Jason Soles was released. During the call Greene complained to Soles about Black deputies who he believes are loyal to Columbus County first Black sheriff, Lewis Hatcher. Greene defeated Hatcher by just 34 votes in Columbus County in 2018.
The election was contested over claims that Greene did not live in Columbus County and allegations of illegal ballot gathering by people on his campaign . While officials investigated the claims, Soles was appointed as interim sheriff.
“I’m sick of it. I’m sick of these Black bastards,” Greene told Soles in a 2019 phone call. “I’m going to clean house and be done with it. And we’ll start from there.”
“Tomorrow’s gonna be a new f**king day. I’m still the motherf**king sheriff, and I’ll go up and fire every godd**n [inaudible]. F**k them Black bastards. They think I’m scared? They’re stupid,” Greene said. “I don’t know what else to do about 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. I’m not going to have it.”
Several Black officers in leadership positions were later demoted or fired.
Despite his suspension, Greene was still campaigning for re-election and his name remains on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election. If he wins the election, David said he will renew his push to get him remove from office.
“My office would have an ethical obligation to file, and will file, a new Petition to Remove Greene from that term of office based on the allegations alleged in the current Petition,” David said in a statement.
Greene had resigned from the North Carolina sheriffs’ association after the tape was released.
