Stacey Abrams partially walks back comments accusing Georgia sheriffs of targeting black community

Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams hit out at Georgia sheriffs during her debate against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Sunday.

In the middle of a debate between the two candidates, Kemp criticized Abrams for previous remarks that suggested she supported was in favor of defunding the police, although Adrams has not explicitly said this.

“Miss Abrams on CNN was asked if she would disappoint the police? And she said, ‘Yes, we need to reallocate resources.’ That means relieving the police. She proposed doing away with cash bail in 2018,” Kemp said.

Abrams hit back at Kemp by saying she wasn’t part of the “good ol’ boys club” of 107 sheriffs who, she alleged, “want to be able to take black people off the streets who want to be able to go without accountability.”

Abrams partially walked back her comments, saying she doesn’t believe “every sheriff wants that.”

“But I know we need a governor who believes in both defending law enforcement and defending the people of Georgia,” Abrams said.

According to Fox News, Abrams is board member and governor of the Seattle-based Marguerite Casey Foundation, which has used the hashtag #DefundThePolice as recently as March of this year and #AbolishThePolice as recently as February.

The foundation held an event in February, titled, “Becoming Abolitionists—A History of Failed Police Reforms & Vision for True Public Safety,” which was moderated by the foundation’s president and CEO, Carmen Rojas.

Rojas, who is a supporter of defunding the police, donated $7,600 to Abrams’ campaign, which is the contribution limit for primaries and general elections in Georgia, Fox reported.