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The sheriff of New Jersey's most populous county resigned Friday, a day after a recording in which he had made racist remarks about Blacks and Sikhs being published by the WNYC.
Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, a Democrat who was on his third term, initially apologized on Thursday night, but refused to resign, even after many officials – including Rep. Philip D. Murphy, representing Josh Gottheimer. . District includes much of Bergen County, and Gurbir Grewal, the state's attorney general – called for his quick resignation.
But on Friday afternoon, faced with increasing pressure, Mr. Saudino and his four deputies resigned, with immediate effect.
The recording was made during the inauguration of Mr. Murphy in Trenton. Shortly after the governor's speech, Mr. Saudino denounced Mr. Murphy's proposal to legalize marijuana, saying "in other words, letting blacks in".
"Smoke their marijuana, do that, and do not worry," said Saudino, according to the WNYC report. "You know, we're going to tie the hands of the cops."
He also said that the only reason Mr. Murphy had appointed Mr. Grewal, the first Sikh-American in the country to be Attorney General, was the "turban".
The comments were condemned across the state, but Mr. Saudino initially offered only an apology and made no mention of his departure.
"These remarks are not representative of the person I am and they do not correspond in any way to the way in which I have led my life personally and as a law enforcement professional with more than 46 years of experience. years of service to the inhabitants of Bergen County "he said in a statement Thursday night.
But Mr Saudino did not show up for work on Friday, and speculation began to swirl to find out if he was going to resign.
The County Sheriff's Office is an elected New Jersey position. A replacement will be appointed by Mr. Murphy. The department, which has more than 600 employees, will be headed by two officials from the County of Bergen Sheriff's Department.
Following Mr. Saudino's resignation, Mr. Murphy stated that he intended to "appoint an acting sheriff capable of restoring public confidence".
"With the resignation of Sheriff Saudino, we can now begin the process of restoring confidence in the Bergen County Sheriff's Office after so much has been so quickly eroded," Murphy said in a statement. "The Bergen County Sheriff's Office is home to countless dedicated officers who were undoubtedly as horrified and disappointed as the comments of their former boss.
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