California mayor resigns over email about police killings

TEMECULA, CALIF.—The mayor of a Southern California city resigned following an email in which he stated he didn’t “believe there’s ever been a good person of colour killed by a police officer” locally.

Temecula Mayor James Stewart had apologized Thursday for the email, saying he never meant to use the word “good.” He had said he is dyslexic and so used voice text to send his latenight Tuesday message, but failed to notice the added word.

“Unfortunately, I did not take the time to proofread what was recorded. I absolutely did not say that,” Stewart told the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Thursday. “What I said is and I don’t believe there has ever been a person of colour murdered by police, on context to Temecula or Riverside County. I absolutely did not say ‘good.’ I have no idea how that popped up.”

Stewart said he was replying to someone “concerned about our police officers and their sensitivity training.”

The city issued a press release late Thursday announcing that Stewart, who was elected to a four-year term in 2016, was stepping down from his post and the city council, news outlets reported.

“You have every right to be hurt and offended. My typos and off-the-cuff response to an email on a serious topic added pain at a time where our community, and our country, is suffering,” Stewart said in a statement. “I may not be the best writer and I sometimes misspeak, but I am not racist.”

He said he was resigning because he understood his “sincerest apologies cannot remedy this situation.”