One key word: Montgomery Sheriff denies making alleged racist remark in closed meeting

It boils down to one word, and essentially one letter in that word, as to whether a racist remark was made by Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson in the fall of 2019.

Fuson says he is being grossly misrepresented in the matter.

The sheriff's comments come after a short audio clip from a private, attorney-client privileged Clarksville-Montgomery County E911 Committee meeting found its way into a mass emailing this week.

At the least, all Montgomery County elected officials and department heads are known to have received the email along with several local media representatives.

In emailed text accompanying the recording, Fuson is quoted as allegedly saying at one point during the meeting, “That’s mighty white of you,” a conversational remark that is historically racist.

But that’s not what Fuson says that he said during the meeting.

Instead, he says the actual statement he made was, “That’s mighty wide of you.”

Fuson points to the camp of his lone competitor in the Aug. 4 sheriff’s race, Mike Oliver, as the suspected email source, but Oliver denies sending the email and told The Leaf-Chronicle Tuesday he only heard “a little bit about it” second-hand.

“But it’s interesting,” Oliver said.

The comment at the center of the controversy was attributed to recorded discussion in the closed meeting about a 911 personnel matter.

Fuson called the email a shameful embarrassment for the community and law enforcement relations, and an unfair and inaccurate representation of his personal character, adding, “That’s just not who I am, and anyone who knows me, knows that.”

“We were discussing, during that meeting, a severance package for the former director of 911,” Fuson explained, “as well as interim management of the department and assigning a special committee within the E911 board that could act as a consultant along with the interim management of the department.”

Montgomery County Emergency Medical Services Chief Jimmie Edwards stepped forward to offer his service on that committee to consult and assist with the search for a new 911 director, partly to help take some of the burden off Fuson and his department, the sheriff said.

At that point, Fuson says he said to Edwards, “That’s mighty wide of you.”

He insists he wasn’t familiar with the racist term at the time.

“The term, ‘mighty wide of you’, is actually a term I have used my whole life,” Fuson said. “It means being broad-minded and having a willingness to give room for other opinions. I invite anyone to look up the definition.”

Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett was among local officials who received the email and said he had briefly spoken with Fuson about it after listening to the audio attachment.

“I have no idea about the origin of the tape. The sheriff is a constitutional officer just like me, and I am just waiting for his response, to see if there is anything Montgomery County government has the legal authority to do,” Durrett said.

Formal statement issued

In response to the emailed allegation against Fuson, the sheriff released this formal statement Tuesday afternoon, published here in its entirety:

“In a recording of a 911 District Board meeting that was recently sent to many elected officials, candidates and media sources, a comment that I made has been grossly misrepresented.

What was said was, ‘That’s mighty WIDE of you (meaning broad minded),’ not ‘mighty white of you.’

This is the most ridiculously disgusting insinuation that I have ever heard.

Elected officials are constantly in the spotlight and their words constantly scrutinized. In the absence of any tangible argument against my proven record as sheriff, my adversaries can only grasp at and try to twist my words in an attempt to tarnish my reputation. Unfortunately this is what politics in America has become. It is a sad day to know that these shameful practices have been brought into this election. I can only say that this shameful and disgusting tactic has no place in local politics and does not deserve any further time.”

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Montgomery Sheriff John Fuson denies making alleged racist remark