The clerk of a Georgia county court has refused to produce transcripts and audio recordings after multiple witnesses said that a judge and two deputies used the N-word in open court.
Allen Duray Green told WAGA that he was waiting to testify at a bond hearing for his friend, Robert Vivian, last month in Fannin County when two investigators identified him as "N****r Ray."
McCaysville Police Officer Michael Early confirmed to WAGA that he "overheard the 'N.....' word followed by 'Ray.'"
Witnesses said that Judge Roger Bradley went on to tell a story about a black bootlegger who he called "N****r Bob."
But Fannin County Sheriff Dane Kirby denied that his deputies used the racial slur, and he argued that the judge had not used it in an offensive context.
"There was nothing inappropriate said in the courtroom that day," Kirby insisted. "The context was good; you all are wasting your time."
The sheriff admitted that Green was known by the street name "N****r Ray" within his department.
Vivian recalled that the deputies and the judge were "straight-forward, matter-of-fact, and they thought it was funny."
For his part, Green insisted that "N****r Ray" had never been his street name.
"It hurts. It still hurts right now," Green noted. "It's a subject that my grandfather, my great-grandfather had to deal with. Not me."
"No one should be using that word at all," he added.
The Fannin County Clerk refused to provide courtroom audio recordings and court transcripts to WAGA, saying they were unavailable at this time. The state Judicial Qualifications Commission reportedly was launching an investigation into Judge Bradley this week.
Green, who has hired an attorney, wants the judge and both deputies to be reprimanded.
"This should not be brushed underneath the table," he said.
Watch the video below from WAGA, broadcast April 7, 2015.
