JONESBORO, Georgia (AP) -- On his first day on the job, the new sheriff called 27 employees into his office, stripped them of their badges, fired them, and had rooftop snipers stand guard as they were escorted out the door.
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"It appears ... that employees of the Sheriff were terminated without cause" and in violation of the county's civil service rules, Judge Stephen Boswell wrote in granting a 30-day restraining order.
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The firings had a racial overtone. Hill was among a spate of black candidates elected last year in the county once dominated by rural whites. The county seat was the setting for the fictional plantation Tara in "Gone With The Wind."
The fired employees included four of the highest-ranking officers, all of them white. Hill told the newspaper their replacements would be black.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/04/sheriff.firings.ap/index.htmlI had to snip the bejeebers out of this article, its worth reading though the whole thing, I think this sheriff went a bit nuts. I do understand that the incoming official has the right to make his office how he wants, but, to fire people without cause, and then replace them with people of your own ethnicity its a bit over the top. When he told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the replacements would be black, I think that the Sheriff definately crossed a line... why can't people just choose people based on their abilities to perform a job? I'm sure the freepers are going nuts over this one.
The fired deputies were even driven home in prisoner transport vehicles, since they were banned from using county vehicles. I just think this sheriff needs some heavy duty sensitivity training. Black, white, hispanic, asian, I think we all need a bit more sensitivity.
~Almost
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