Some racist comments, allegedly made by Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, have caused a reaction from Sheriffs’ Offices across the state; and the association that represents all of the sheriffs in North Carolina counties has now joined the chorus of those weighing in on the controversy.

A surfaced audio recording of what appears to be McFadden, who is black, allegedly captures McFadden addressing his staff in an angry monologue in which he issues a racial slur against a white officer, as well as one against a black officer.

 In the audio, McFadden also implies that the seven black officers are lazy.

The Mecklenburg sheriff has been under scrutiny since the recordings were made public, and the NC Sheriffs’ Association stated that it’s now investigating the matter.

“I know I can’t trust that captain,” McFadden appeared to have said in the audio recording. “That white cracker captain is better than the seven other captains upstairs.”

Later in the recording in which he complains about staff not being trustworthy and not doing their jobs, he uses the N-word, making his controversial monologue one of the few hidden mic moments where someone is caught using racial slurs against both blacks and whites in the same statement.

After the scandal became public and became big news in the Charlotte area, McFadden, without acknowledging that it was his voice in the audio, made a public statement on the matter at a speech to new trainees.

“If you believe I’m racist, you need to talk to me,” he said. “If you believe I’m racist, you need to talk to the kids who come and see me. If you believe I’m racist, talk to the people who know me.”

This isn’t the first time there have been complaints about the sheriff’s conduct regarding alleged racial bias.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police has been critical of McFadden’s leadership for years.

 Dan Redford, the president of that organization told a media outlet in Mecklenburg County that this had been an ongoing problem with the sheriff.

“We mentioned the racist comments that McFadden was saying three years ago, but nobody believed us,” he said.

The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, which represents all 100 sheriff’s offices in the state, put out a statement shortly after news of the sheriff’s comments hit the media. The statement from the association notes that the statewide organization is aware of the “racially charged comments” McFadden allegedly made.

The Association’s statement added that his words “shock the conscience” and 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,” it reads. Racially charged comments certainly do not meet those standards.”

The preamble of the association’s Constitution speaks of the need to establish “bonds of confidence, respect and friendship” among the sheriffs across the state,” which, the preamble says, “maintains peace for North Carolina citizens and residents, 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 – the governing board – announced this week that the committee had voted unanimously today to inquire further into the matter.

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