A Kentucky jailer up for reelection repeatedly tossed off racist slurs in a conversation with a former sheriff last month—without knowing that the sheriff was recording him, according to local Fox affiliate WDRB-TV. Bullitt County Jailer Paul Watkins had been captured using the N-word half a dozen times over the course of the hourlong recording, according to evidence filed as part of a whistleblower lawsuit and reported Monday by the outlet. The suit brought against Watkins last year by two former employees is one of at least three currently pending against the jailer for allegedly creating a hostile work environment with racist and sexist language. Former sheriff Dave Greenwell, who recorded the March 3 conversation, explained to WDRB that the jailer had called the meeting to ask for Greenwell’s support in his reelection bid. Their conversation was wide-ranging, however, covering infidelity to interracial marriage. An attorney for Watkins told the outlet that her client had been under “significant personal stress” when he had made the comments, and that he “sincerely” regretted having made them.
Read it at WDRB-TV
