GRAHAM — Friday, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson was finally able to break his silence.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against he and his department in 2012, accusing deputies of racially profiling and discriminating against latinos.

Last year, a federal judge ruled in his favor, but the DOJ appealed the decision.

Johnson was finally able to speak to the media, since the DOJ withdrew that appeal Wednesday.

“I want to thank my wife and family for standing with me,” Johnson said, through tears. “I would like to add the employees of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, served the citizens of Alamance County with dignity and honor through the entire ordeal.”

An extremely emotional Johnson was able to publicly address the media for the first time about a federal lawsuit that began in 2012.

“During various meetings with the DOJ, we asked ‘what or who has done anything to bring this action about?’” Johnson said. “Their statement was ‘we have not received a formal complaint.’ I was both shocked and disappointed in the methods the DOJ used to bring this suit about.'”

Representative Mark Walker joined Johnson, saying the entire investigation was politically motivated.

He’s trying to help the county get back nearly $700,000 it spent in taxpayer money defending the case.

“This money should have been spent in investing jobs, building schools and spent in our education arena,” Walker said.

In exchange for the DOJ dropping its lawsuit, the sheriff’s office agreed to several things, most notably changing its website to include Spanish speakers, and developing a bias-free policing policy.

“We revised our citizen complaint form,” explained county attorney Clyde Albright. “We’re working to have it placed on our website so someone can read and respond in Spanish.”

“I hope that this is a point that we can get rid of some of the suspicion from the immigrant community with the sheriff’s department,” said Alamance County NAACP president Barrett Brown.

Johnson says he feels like a million pounds have been lifted off
him, and he now has a new focus:

“I’ll be honest with you: for eight years I’ve done nothing but research and run hundreds of thousands of copies over and over for the DOJ,” Johnson said. “I want to get back to being sheriff and supporting our county.”

Albright also blamed DOJ leaders for causing Johnson to have a heart attack in 2013 because of stress he says officials put the sheriff through.