A second video showing the confrontation between Supervisor Shamann Walton and Sheriff’s cadet Emare Butler, which allegedly included the elected official making a physical threat and using a racial slur, was released Wednesday.
The security footage once again did not include audio of the incident, during which Butler says Walton called him the N-word, but instead provided a different angle on City Hall’s Goodlett Place entrance.
The confrontation began on the morning of June 24 as people gathered at the City Hall security checkpoint.
Butler said he told Walton to remove his belt to get through a metal detector, which allegedly prompted Walton to threaten to fight Butler and say: “It’s n—s like you that look like me that’s always a problem.” The cadet also accused Walton of saying the security guard’s actions were “n— shit.”
Walton later admitted to using the N-word multiple times. Both Butler and Walton are Black men.
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The new video footage blurred faces of other people within view and shows the supervisor taking part in animated conversation. The cadet picks up a phone on the desk and appears to make a call while Walton reaches for the basket holding his items. The cadet moves the basket out of his reach.
While the first video released last week by city officials shows the cadet going out of view of the camera, the new video clearly shows him walking around the security desk to speak with Walton. However, a column is blocking the camera’s view as a sheriff’s supervisor approaches.
The incident is now the subject of an investigation by the Department of Human Resources’ Equal Employment Opportunity division after Butler appealed HR Director Carol Isen’s decision that the incident had been “timely and appropriately addressed.”
A report will be delivered to the Civil Services Commission and findings could be used in a potential civil lawsuit.
Butler told The Standard in a previous interview that he felt Walton was out of line for calling him the racial slur and using his status as an elected official to demean him. He also accused Walton of defaming him in comments published in the media.
In past statements, Walton has accused Butler and other cadets of repeatedly targeting him during security checks.
Walton said the actions were part of a pattern of retaliation after he authored a ballot measure in 2020 to create a Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board. The board’s creation followed allegations of jail deputies using excessive force and pitting inmates against each other in gladiator-style fights.