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Bradley Co. Deputy Accused of Using Racial Slurs

871 views · Published 31 January 2013 · 2:58 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2013 · News & Politics

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A Bradley County Sheriff's deputy is off the job after co-workers accuse him of using racial slurs.Charlie McKenzie has been a part-time employee of the county since last August. Multiple co-workers recently came forward, saying he's used the N-word on more than one occasion while on-duty.We got several calls from viewers who wanted to make sure this wasn't being swept under the rug.We got word of the incident late last week, but when we made phone calls to county officials asking about McKenzie's employment status, it turned into a game of semantics.Now, we're letting you listen to the voicemail so you can be the judge. Natalie. I talked to the Sheriff and he said we have not suspended anyone. I asked him about specifics of what you said and that was his response. Thanks, bye. That's Bradley County Sheriff's Department spokesman Bob Gault's voicemail last Friday when we first called.Five days later we got a formal press release from the NAACP outlining allegations of racial slurs made by Deputy Charlie McKenzie, Gault however continued to deny knowing about the incident.Only after driving to the Sheriff's Department and demanding to speak to the Sheriff were we granted an interview. He confirmed what we already knew. I was about the last to know. Friday it had been brought to my attention a couple of the court officers had written out statements about him doing that, said Sheriff Jim Ruth.The Sheriff is referring to the statements, which can be found here.Once these allegations came out, these letters I saw, I had our internal investigator go to his home and find him and question him about what his situation was, said Sheriff Ruth.It was then that Sheriff Ruth says McKenzie resigned, blaming medical issues. Ruth added that McKenzie hadn't successfully passed his evaluation period, so he wouldn't have been kept on the staff anyway.McKenzie is also a Cleveland City Councilman. When we spoke to the city manager and Mayor Tom Rowland, they said it was the first they heard of these problems. They've yet to take any action on the matter.Calls we made to McKenzie's home were not returned.By Natalie Jenereski

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