Charlotte County Commissioner accused of using racial slur in meeting

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Charlotte County Commissioners are expected to reprimand a sitting board member next week after an internal investigation found Commissioner Stephen Deutsch used a racial slur in a meeting.

The investigation, conducted in January by an independent law firm, found Deutsch used the N-word while meeting with the D’Juan Harris, Executive Director of the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Harris told investigators the two men were discussing the recent presidential election, when Deutsch relayed a story from his childhood, “saying that when he was a child his childhood friend’s mother would call for her son by calling him,” the N-word.

Deutsch then said in his days as a child, the N-word was a term of endearment and not to be taken as offensive.

Charlotte County

But Harris was offended and told Deutsch to stop saying the word.

The internal investigation found Deutsch violated county policy by engaging in offensive behavior. The report recommends Deutsch face a public reprimand.

County Commissioners are planning to discuss the incident at their next meeting on Feb. 11.

Deutsch did not return requests for comment.