Wilkinson County is located in central Georgia. Less than 10,000 people live there.
According to Wikipedia, nearly 41% of the population is Black.
Cody Griggers is a former Wilkinson County sheriff county deputy, charged with protecting and serving the County’s residents. However, a series of events made it obvious that he was interested in protecting and serving one segment of the populace, while harming and harassing another segment.
Griggers’ secret life was uncovered when the FBI obtained a search warrant to examine the cellphone of a White Supremacist group leader. The group leader had taken part in a group chat of fellow extremists, of which Griggers was a part.
When the group chat was examined, Griggers was discovered to be an active participant. He revealed himself to be a racist and anti-Semitist. He used racial and homophobic slurs, and made Holocaust-positive comments. He bragged that he had made and bought illegal weapons.
If this isn’t concerning enough, Griggers made comments about his law enforcement career that demonstrated his feeling towards Black people. While bragging about using excessive force against a Black man that Griggers accused of robbing a gun store, he said:
Oh, got wrapped up in my AR and forgot to tell y'all that I beat the shit out of a n***** Saturday.”
He described the beating as “sweet stress relief.”
He also discussed setting up Black citizens:
“I'm going to charge them with whatever felonies I can to take away their ability to vote."
The FBI and ATF investigated Griggers, and during a search of his home and deputy vehicle, authorities found 11 weapons, including a machine gun with the registration number removed and an unregistered shotgun.
Griggers lost his job, was brought up on charges, and was convicted of possessing unlicensed weapons. He faces a maximum of 10 years plus three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
I wish I thought that Cody Griggers was an isolated incident, but we know this is not true. We know that police officers have contributed money for teenage terrorist Kyle Rittenhouse’s bail. We know that far too many law enforcement officers belong to White Supremacist groups.
Until these facts change, Blacks and other POCs will never know sweet stress relief.