Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said in a news conference on Friday that he has apologized to New England Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts for a traffic stop outside his Houston-area home in March that Roberts said he felt was racially motivated.
Nehls, however, still defended his deputy’s actions during the stop, in which the deputy referred to Roberts as a “big, black man.”
Nehls said on Friday that he spoke with both Roberts and his attorney, and acknowledged that they shouldn’t have taken so long with the traffic stop on March 10, via the Associated Press. He also said that Watkins was wrong to order Roberts’ wife, Tori, back inside her home after she walked outside upon seeing the flashing lights.
“The way he interacted with his wife, I didn’t appreciate the tone,” Nehls said, via the Associated Press.
The deputy, in speaking to a colleague, referred to New England Patriot player Elandon Roberts as a “big, black male,” but Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls defended the reference to race, saying the deputy was simply offering a description of the driver https://t.co/A7nqJ3usyV
— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) July 13, 2019
“I apologize for the way you were treated and maybe the way you felt at that point in time,” Nehls said to Roberts in the news conference, via Boston.com. “I mean I don’t know truly how he felt, but he’s thinking, ‘I’m sitting in this car for eight minutes and nothing is happening.’ He doesn’t at that point in time even know what the deputy is doing in his car. But the deputy then is calling for backup.
“So that’s a long eight minutes and I’m sure he felt a little uncomfortable. And I’ve apologized to him for that.”
Nehls also said he has “no issue” if Roberts files a complaint with the district attorney over the incident, and called the two-time NFL champion a “very professional young man.”
Stuff your sorries in a sack.
Geesh.
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