Ahead of the 2020 election, a longtime law enforcement officer running for Colleton County sheriff in South Carolina is owning up to mistakes he says he’s made in the past. In a video posted Tuesday, Craig Stivender admits to appearing in blackface at a Halloween party he says he attended with other law enforcement officers about a decade ago.
… Stivender starts by mentioning a traffic ticket he got at 16, then shared he’s been divorced and since gotten remarried. Stivender admits he’s lost his temper on the job before, and subsequently been punished for it. He’s also been involved in “fender benders” that were his fault.
… In the video, a photo shows Stivender at the party wearing a large necklace and an earring. The skin tone of his head and arms is noticeably darker. Stivender explains in the video he was attempting to portray “ruthless drug kingpin” Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, who is African American. Stivender says: “I did it to disparage a criminal whose actions hurt our community and this country.”