At this point, the fact that the country is currently in upheaval over racist policing shouldn’t be lost on anyone. Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t stopped police from engaging in the same behavior that has inspired nationwide protest.
WREG reports that Steve Sanders, the sheriff of Lauderdale County in Tennessee has apologized after a call leaked of him saying the n-word while discussing a case. The audio was posted on Facebook from an unknown source.
Sanders goes through the traditional “I’m not a racist” song and dance, saying “I’m going to apologize Friday to all the citizens in the county, because they’re good people. I got a lot of black friends, I got a lot of enemies, as any sheriff would, but I apologize to all of them.”
Honestly, I would’ve been surprised if he didn’t pull out the “I have black friends card.” He goes on to say that he doesn’t consider himself a racist and the word “just slipped out.” I don’t understand what it is with white people and racial slurs just “slipping out?”
Understandably, there have been calls for Sanders to resign. “It’s heartbreaking for one, and we’re already dealing with this corona issue, and it’s like a slap in the face,” Tiffany Driver, a Lauderdale resident told WREG. Sanders has rebuffed those concerns saying “normal people” don’t want him to resign.
I can only guess what he means by “normal people.”