Aug. 30 (UPI) — An Arkansas sheriff resigned Friday after a recording of a racist tirade surfaced this week.
On Thursday, The Pine Bluff Commercial identified Arkansas County Sheriff Todd Wright as the voice in a recording of a five-minute racist tirade circulating on Facebook this week.
On the recording a man uses a derogatory term for Black people nine times and berates a woman, who addresses him as Todd, for speaking to a Black person in a grocery store.
The screen on the recording is blacked out, but the verbiage is identical to a separate video of Wright, for which he had publicly apologized.
On Friday the Quorum Court, Arkansas County’s governing body, held and livestreamed a special meeting to address the recording.
Wright spoke for several minutes, saying he was sorry for the offense his remarks had caused, but denied he was racist.
“I know in my heart what kind of person I am,” Wright said.
Multiple community members addressed Wright directly and demanded that he resign and seek help or spiritual guidance to change his heart.
KATV reported Friday that Wright’s resignation is effective immediately, but he will still receive a contract labor check for the next month. He will not be paid for insurance or retirement during that period.
The county’s chief deputy will serve on an interim basis until a replacement is appointed or a special election is held.
