TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi NAACP chapter leader saysa sheriff has apologized for recently discovered racist remarks.
However, the county supervisors who appropriate funds to the sheriff’s office tell the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal they won’t reprimand the sheriff, with one supervisor blaming a fellow supervisor who released text messages under a public records request.
Lee County NAACP President Chris Traylor asked Sheriff JimJohnson to apologize after Johnson said in a text message to another whiteelected official that a Hispanic state lawmaker is “worse than a blackperson.”
The newspaper obtained Johnson’s 2017 messages exchangedwith Lee County Supervisor Phil Morgan. Both men complained about state Rep.Shane Aguirre of Tupelo.
Traylor says he received Johnson’s letter but won’t share ituntil chapter leaders vote Thursday on accepting the apology.
___
Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com
