LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Mesquite’s City Manager, Edward “Owen” Dickie is under fire for racial comments he made during a conversation he had with Former Mesquite Police Chief Maquade Chesley.
Unbeknownst to Dickie, the conversation was recorded and leaked by Chesley in what Dickie believes to be retaliation for firing him.
“This is a person I let go in January, so I can see why they are doing this,” Dickie told 8 News Now.
Dickie fired Chesley for insubordination following a city investigation regarding alleged threats and misconduct toward the city’s police department.
During a private conversation with Chesley, Dickie who was once a supporter of his, stated that if he was ever let go, he would go down to Louisiana, back to the back parishes and find himself a 6’5” Black woman chief.
“I told them, ‘I’d like to go down to Louisiana with the biggest Black Aunt Jemima and just flippin’ whip you guys into shape,'” Dickie admitted to saying.
Dickie also stated that they were probably going to “hate the next chief more than him,” thus making them regret their decision to fire him.
Soon after making that comment Dickie and Mesquite’s Mayor, Jesse Whipple ended up letting Chesley go.
“I made comments that I regret, but it was just between him and I at the time,” Dickie shared. “What I intended to say was, ‘Maybe what I need to do is go down south and get a strong Black Woman and whip these guys into shape.'”
He continued, “It was a comment I shouldn’t of made, and I talked to council about it and they will hand down a reprimand.”
Dickie told 8 News Now that he reported himself to HR once the recordings were leaked a couple of weeks ago to the Nevada Current.
“I can’t believe I said, ‘Aunt Jemima type,'” he said. “I would never say that in public.”
“The gist of what I was trying to say was that maybe the department needs some diversity,” he added.
In regards to the accusations of using racial slurs like the N-word, Dickie denies it.
It’s still unclear what the council plans to do regarding the leaked audio, but Dickie said he has since received a verbal warning and write-up for his actions. There was no word if he would be let go from his current position as city manager.
Dickie said that the last time he spoke with Former Police Chief Chesley was in January right before they let him go. Chesley currently has two open lawsuits against the City of Mesquite.
