Gov. Phil Murphy had called for the resignation of Sheriff Michael Saudino.
(This post has been updated)
The sheriff of Bergen County in New Jersey has resigned after a radio station aired a tape in which he is heard making multiple racist comments about African Americans and the state’s Indian American Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
After WNYC aired the tape on Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy had demanded the resignation of Sheriff Michael Saudino, a former Republican who switched parties to become a Democrat in 2016.
Saudino and four of his assistants submitted their resignations on Friday, the Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
In the January 16 conversation, the sheriff is heard asking his colleagues whether Murphy, the newly minted governor, had named anyone from Bergen County to top level positions. When one of his deputies pointed out that the new attorney general is from the county, Saudino responded, “[Murphy] didn’t do that because of Bergen County. He did that because of the turban.”
READ: Meet Gurbir Grewal, America’s first Sikh attorney general (January 18, 2018)
WNYC wrote that the statement of Saudino “was particularly disturbing to Grewal because the men knew each other” and worked together in the county. Together, they ran the county SWAT team, according to the report.
Grewal told WNYC that the remarks are “inconsistent with the Mike Saudino I knew and worked with in Bergen County.”
He added: “On a personal level what he said, if it’s true and accurate, is disappointing, because I think having worked with him for two years he would know better than most that I have law enforcement credentials.”
“You may expect it from people who don’t know you, and don’t know your credentials, and don’t know how hard you work in this space, and what you’ve done in this space and what you’ve accomplished… that’s the disappointing part it, to hear from someone who knows first-hand what I’ve done,” Grewal told the website.
READ: Racist NJ radio hosts who called state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal taken off air (July 26, 2018)
About African Americans, Saudino said: “Christ almighty, in other words let the blacks come in, do whatever . . . they want, smoke their marijuana, do this, do that, and don’t worry about it. You know, we’ll tie the hands of cops.”
NJ.com reported that the sheriff apologized later, saying that his comments were “not representative” of who he is. “In an effort to repair the damage to the friendships that I have built with these communities I have reached out directly to several respected leaders in the communities I have offended and I have personally offered my apologizes and I have asked for their forgiveness and for their communities’ forgiveness,” he said.
On Friday, after pressure mounted, Saudino announced the resignation via Facebook, effective Friday.
“Additionally, Executive Undersheriff George Buono, Undersheriff Robert Colaneri, Undersheriff Brian Smith and Undersheriff Joseph Hornyak have also submitted their resignations effective immediately,” the post said. “Pending the appointment of an interim sheriff by Governor Phil Murphy, Sheriff’s Office Chief Kevin Pell will be the officer-in-charge of the sheriff’s department’s operations and Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Warden Steve Ahrendt will be the officer-in-charge of the Bergen County jail’s operations.”
I have now listened to the recording obtained by @WNYC. If that’s in fact Sheriff Saudino's voice, then he should resign immediately.
— Gurbir S. Grewal (@GurbirGrewalNJ) September 20, 2018
This was not the first time Grewal, who is the first Indian American attorney general of New Jersey, became a target of racist remarks. Two months ago, New Jersey 101.5’s Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco were suspended after they repeatedly called Grewal “Turban Man.”