		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="109460728"
		 data-section="1">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><header id="ra-headers">
<h4 id="ra-headline"><span style="color:#1f0303;">Howard County sheriff Jim, 69, Fitzgerald, the &#8216;poster boy for bigotry&#8217; forced out after indictment on racism, gender bias and retaliations </span></h4>
<h4><span style="color:#1f0303;">County Office of Human Rights report indicted sheriff had discriminated against political opponents</span></h4>
<h4><span style="color:#1f0303;">Shifting assignments to benefit supporters and berating those who didn’t support his campaign</span></h4>
<h4><span style="color:#1f0303;">Accused of “using racial epithets and slurs towards employees, colleagues, citizens and other government officials who are female, black, gay, Asian or Jewish”</span></h4>
</header>
<div id="ra-body-wrap">
<article id="ra-body"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81203" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/howard-county-executive-allan-kittleman-on-the-resignation-of-embattled-sheriff-james-fitzgerald1.png" alt="Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman on the resignation of embattled Sheriff James Fitzgerald1.png" width="729" height="408" /></p>
<h6><strong>Howard County Council Chairman Calvin Ball, who helped broker Fitzgerald&#8217;s resignation, addressing the media over the sheriff&#8217;s resignation o, Tuesday</strong></h6>
<p>The Republican governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, Tuesday, demanded the resignation of Howard County sheriff, Jim Fitzgerald over allegations of racism and bigotry.<br />
Fitzgerald who has been called the “poster child for bigotry” will leave office on Saturday and soon retire, the county’s council chairman said in a statement Tuesday.<br />
The resignation of the county&#8217;s top lawman comes amidst allegations of racism and retaliation against political opponents in the department.<br />
The allegations came to a head last month after the Howard County Office of Human Rights released a <a href="http://www.wbaltv.com/blob/view/-/41766366/data/1/-/bngkos/-/Howard-County-Office-of-Human-Rights-Decision-and-Order--Sheriff-James-Fitzgerald.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> of a year-long investigation of allegations of abuse and discrimination filed by a deputy. The report found that the sheriff had discriminated against those who opposed his election.<br />
The report said 69-year-old Fitzgerald went beyond shifting assignments to benefit those who supported him and berating those who didn’t, he was accused of “using racial epithets and slurs towards employees, colleagues, citizens and other government officials who are female, black, gay, Asian or Jewish.”</p>
<div class="ra-module h">
<figure class="ra-figure"><figcaption>
<h6 class="ra-caption"><img class="alignnone wp-image-81209" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/sheriff-jim-fitzgerald3.jpg" alt="Sheriff Jim Fitzgerald3.jpg" width="682" height="384" />&#8216;Racist and bigoted&#8217; Howard County Sheriff Jim Fitzgerald is resigned after allegations of racism and retaliation against political opponents were confirmed by year-long investigation</h6>
</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<p>The report detailed accusations that Fitzgerald used racist and foul language and systematically retaliated against some employees while promoting others who supported him.<br />
The damning <a href="http://www.wbaltv.com/blob/view/-/41766366/data/1/-/bngkos/-/Howard-County-Office-of-Human-Rights-Decision-and-Order--Sheriff-James-Fitzgerald.pdf" target="_blank">human rights report</a>, the result of an investigation of official complaints, noted that sheriff Fitzgerald repeatedly used the n-word, referenced watermelon to black officers and said “The [African-American deputies] are not too smart, but they get the job done&#8221;.<br />
In one instance, investigators also said that the Democrat called a former county official “Little Kenny Jew boy.”<br />
In his own defense, Fitzgerald describes himself as just “a loud New Yorker,” to investigators has apologized for the atmosphere caused by the accusations. However, he did not apologize for his actions.<br />
Howard County Council Chairman Calvin Ball helped broker Fitzgerald&#8217;s resignation, says he didn&#8217;t discuss the nature of the accusations with the sheriff, but decided to make a personal appeal to the sheriff reminding him that stepping down was the best course of action: &#8220;I think it was less important to hear reasons or excuses and more important to help move forward,&#8221;</p>
<h6><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-81207" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/protests-calling-for-sheriff-jim-fitzgeralds-resignation.jpg" alt="Protests calling for Sheriff Jim Fitzgerald's resignation.jpg" width="1200" height="1366" /></h6>
<h6><strong>Howard county citizens call for Fitzgerald&#8217;s resignation after the release of a report from the county&#8217;s office of human rights </strong></h6>
<p>The Human Rights report came after a complaint from former Lt. Charles Gable, who said he had no choice but to leave his job because of the environment where Fitzgerald had “become the poster child for bigotry, bullying and temper tantrums.” The outcome sparked an increasing wave of protests against Fitzgerald, a democrat, from a broad spectrum of county citizens. Officials from both parties, as well, called for the lawman to step down came.<br />
An agreement expected to be signed by Fitzgerald on Tuesday says that Gable will get his job back and receive more than $58,000 in back pay.<br />
Fitzgerald himself is not receiving any financial payment as part of the agreement to resign, though he will have some sort of pension benefit.<br />
The office of Gov. Hogan, who called for the sheriff Fitzgerald to resign earlier in the morning, will oversee the task of filling the vacuum.</p>
</article>
</div>

‘Racist’ sheriff, Jim Fitzgerald, the ‘poster boy for bigotry’ forced to resign by Maryland governor, after Human rights report confirmed allegations of racism, retaliations and gender bias
