Howard County leaders are calling for the resignation of the sheriff after the release of a report alleging the sheriff used racial slurs and belittled staff.
The Howard County Office of Human Rights conducted the discrimination investigation into Sheriff James Fitzgerald.
County Executive Allan Kittleman and former county executives Ken Ulman, James Robey and Edward Cochran issued the following joint statement Thursday calling for Fitzgerald's resignation in light of the report:
“Howard County is considered one of the best places in the nation to live in no small part because of our shared values of inclusion and respect for neighbors of all backgrounds and beliefs.
“The words and actions of Howard County Sheriff James Fitzgerald, revealed and substantiated in the findings of the Howard County Office of Human Rights, run counter to these values, and to our personal beliefs.
“The conclusions of the report are deeply disturbing, and those words and thoughts are deplorable and have no place in our society, especially when they come from an elected law enforcement official.
“We condemn Sheriff Fitzgerald’s actions in the strongest possible terms, and, as four of the five living County Executives of Howard County, call on him to leave his position to restore the trust of the community.”
