UPDATE: NC NAACP calls for sheriff’s resignation following racially charged comments caught on recording; Greene resigns from N.C. Sheriff’s Association

COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - One day after WECT broke the story of Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene’s racially charged comments captured on an audio recording, the N.C. NAACP issued a statement calling for his resignation. The N.C. Sheriff’s Association was scheduled to hold a hearing regarding Greene’s comments on Friday, Sept. 30, but Greene resigned Thursday afternoon.

“The Association believes sheriffs are and should continue to be held to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, principles, and morals and should serve their communities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. Comments that disparage any North Carolina citizens certainly do not meet those standards,” a press release from the Association partially reads.

While Greene has resigned from his position in the Association, he is still the sheriff of Columbus County.

“Sheriff Jody Greene must resign. His language is divisive, nasty, and offensive — his words are disparaging and hurtful to people of color. His actions have cast a cloud over his ability to execute the office with impartiality,” the statement issued by NC State Conference of the NAACP President Deborah Dicks Maxwell and Curtis Hill, President of the Columbus County Branch of the NAACP, reads in part.

Greene’s comments also prompted Columbus County District Attorney Jon David to request the State Bureau of Investigation look into allegations of obstruction of justice at the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office.

The Executive Committee provided Sheriff Greene due notice of the hearing and the opportunity to be heard, likely to be held tomorrow, Friday, September 30 at a time selected by the Executive Committee.

Upon being notified this afternoon of the Executive Committee’s decision to schedule a hearing, Sheriff Greene resigned his membership in the Association to avoid causing any controversy for the Association.

With the ongoing criminal investigation, WECT is also learning more about the Sheriff’s Officer’s potential liability resulting from Greene’s words.

In North Carolina, sheriff’s department employees work at the pleasure of the sheriff, and sheriffs have wide latitude to fire employees for nearly any reason they want. An employee’s race is a notable exception.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act says employers shall not discriminate on the basis of race. Comments made by Greene over the phone to Interim Sheriff Jason Soles during a February 2019 conversation appear to do just that. Greene had been temporarily removed from office while elections officials resolved a dispute over the outcome of the 2018 Columbus County Sheriff’s election. Greene had narrowly defeated Lewis Hatcher, the county’s first ever African American sheriff, but concerns about election fraud and Greene’s eligibility to serve put the results of the election in question.

Soles says Greene began calling him late at night after he had been removed from office. During one particular call in February of 2019, Soles said he became concerned when Greene began making disparaging comments about the department’s Black employees, and Soles started recording the conversation.

“I’m tired of them f***ing with me. It ain’t happening no more. No godd**n more,” Greene can be heard saying on the recording, after informing Soles he was pulling employees’ Verizon phone records to see who might be leaking information to the ousted Sheriff Hatcher, who was suing to be reinstated. “So you let them know, if I find their numbers in the next day or two, they ain’t going to like it. They damn sure ain’t going to like it. And that’s got to be somebody in the command staff. Clarity. I don’t trust her. She’s just sitting there staring at me the other day, the whole time. Staring at me the whole f**ing time,” Greene continues, apparently referring to Augustine Clarida, who at the time was an African American detention officer.

“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 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.”

In the recording, Greene can be heard saying he’s going to start firing people who are “guilty by f**king association” with Hatcher and Melvin Campbell, another African-American officer in the department Greene fired two months after taking office.

“We’ll cut the snake’s head f**king off. Period. And Melvin Campbell is as big a snake as Lewis Hatcher ever dared to be. Every Black that I know, you need to fire him to start with, he’s a snake,” Greene says before ending the phone call.

Greene released the following response on the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page:

“I have not resigned as the Sheriff of Columbus County. I will continue to serve no matter the allegations or rumors. Thank you all for the concerns and support.”

Employment attorneys who WECT spoke to said comments like these could lead to liability, if an African American employee who was fired or demoted suspected that race was a factor in the action taken against them. Moreover, if racially charged comments are “severe and pervasive” enough, it can create a hostile work environment even if no one is fired, which can also set the stage for a lawsuit. Attorneys say the Sheriff’s Department, and not the Sheriff, would be liable in a potential wrongful termination claim.

The attorneys consulted with did not want to be directly quoted due to potential conflicts with the parties involved and/or the possibility they may be retained in a future lawsuit connected to this audio recording.

If the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office were to be found liable for Sheriff Greene’s actions against employees, the potential remedies for ousted employees could include reinstatement, lost wages, and payment for emotional distress, attorneys fees and putative damages to deter similar behavior in the future.

Because several of these terminations and demotions happened years ago, former employees considering a wrongful termination suit may have statute of limitations hurdles to contend with. However, there are multiple avenues employees can pursue that protect against discrimination based on race. In addition to the Title VII protections, there is also Section 1981 from the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It has a 4 year statute of limitations, which would mean employees who were terminated or demoted under Jody Greene who could prove that race was a factor in that action may still have recourse.

Employment attorneys WECT consulted could not immediately recall a local case in recent history in which an elected public officials was caught on tape making such overt comments connected to an employees’ race. But nearly 30 years ago, New Hanover County District Attorney Jerry Spivey was removed from office by a judge, after using a racial slur against pro football player Ray Jacobs of the Denver Broncos at a Wrightsville Beach bar. His conduct was found to be prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Columbus County District Attorney Jon David said he was not made aware of the audio recording of Sheriff Greene until WECT obtained a copy of the recording last week and started asking questions. David has since obtained his own copy, and requested the SBI investigation.

WECT reached out to all of the Columbus County commissioners Thursday, for their reaction to Sheriff Greene’s comments. Commissioner Buddy Byrd indicated he’d informed his fellow commissioners about the recording of the racially charged comments over a year ago, and he said none of them did anything. At the time of this publication, Commissioner Lavern Coleman is the only other commissioner WECT had been able to reach. When asked if the commission planned to take any action in response to the sheriff’s comments, Coleman declined to comment and referred the reporter back to the sheriff’s office.

The NC NAACP’s full statement:

On Wednesday, September 28, WECT News 6 published horrifying recordings of Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene making racist comments about Black residents. In response, President Deborah Dicks Maxwell of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, and Curtis Hill, President of the Columbus County Branch of the NAACP, made the following joint statement:

“Sheriff Jody Greene must resign. His language is divisive, nasty, and offensive — his words are disparaging and hurtful to people of color. His actions have cast a cloud over his ability to execute the office with impartiality.

“Our leaders in law enforcement should be held to high moral standards. The NAACP, as a member of the Governors’ Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, knows these biased and prejudicial statements have no place in law enforcement. We call on other members of law enforcement, county leaders, and all who call Columbus County home to reject the sentiments expressed in these statements.

“Columbus County, and in particular its Black residents, deserve better. We deserve accountability. To restore dignity and confidence in the office of the Columbus County Sheriff, we demand a thorough investigation of all activities conducted by this office since the beginning of Sheriff Greene’s tenure, by all relevant authorities — including the State Board of Investigation and the federal government.

“This is a moment for us to join together in solidarity and strengthen our community against those who would seek to split us apart. The NAACP will continue to speak truth to power alongside our Columbus County neighbors until justice is served.”

The N.C. Sherriff’s Association’s full statement:

“The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association (the Association), representing all 100 sheriffs in our state, is aware of racially-charged comments allegedly made by Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene, that shock the conscience. The comments made on the recording are inflammatory, racially derogatory, insulting, and offensive.

The Association believes sheriffs are and should continue to be held to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, principles, and morals and should serve their communities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. Comments that disparage any North Carolina citizens certainly do not meet those standards.

The preamble of the Association’s Constitution creates an Association that establishes “bonds of confidence, respect and friendship” among the sheriffs across the State, maintains peace for NC citizens, and seeks to gain the public’s confidence through the “courtesy, honesty, integrity, and dependability of the sheriffs of North Carolina.”

Therefore, the Association’s Executive Committee (governing board) voted unanimously to hold a hearing to determine, pursuant to the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws, an “appropriate resolution for the matter,” up to and including expulsion of Sheriff Greene from membership in the Association.

The Executive Committee provided Sheriff Greene due notice of the hearing and the opportunity to be heard, likely to be held tomorrow, Friday, September 30 at a time selected by the Executive Committee.

Upon being notified this afternoon of the Executive Committee’s decision to schedule a hearing, Sheriff Greene resigned his membership in the Association to avoid causing any controversy for the Association.”

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