Alamance County Sheriff Reacts To Dropped Discrimination Lawsuit

An Alamance County Sheriff accused of racial profiling spoke publicly Monday for the first time after a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a discrimination lawsuit.

The U.S. Justice Department also investigated allegations of unconstitutional searches and seizures of Latinos by Terry Johnson and his office.

But last week, federal judge Thomas Schroeder released his ruling in a 253-page opinion. He found no pattern or practice of unconstitutional law enforcement or racial profiling against Latinos by the Alamance County Sheriff's Office.

Randy Jones with the sheriff's office  says Johnson spoke about the lawsuit Monday after reading the decision.

“The sheriff said he's very gratified by that and it really upheld his belief in our system when the truth came out and justice prevailed,” says Jones. “Sheriff Johnson specifically addressed the fact that judge Schroeder went through every individual alleged issue and responded to it and came up with his decision.”

Schroeder is also the same judge in the North Carolina Voting Rights trial that just wrapped up in Winston-Salem.

The Alamance County sheriff's office estimates defending the discrimination case cost the county more than $600,000.  

Attorney Chuck Kitchen says they're still calculating the exact amount and they plan to ask the Justice Department to pay its court costs.

*Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news.