St. Francis County Sheriff Bobby May forcefully defended his decision to rehire former Marion police officer Trey Bynum during a contentious press conference Wednesday morning in Forrest City, Arkansas.

Bynum, who was recently fired from the Marion Police Department, has been rehired as a deputy with the St. Francis County Sheriff’s Office. May previously confirmed to the Forrest City Times-Herald that Bynum was hired Tuesday, June 2, and was scheduled to begin work Thursday, June 11.

Press Conference Tensions

During the press conference, May said Bynum had been “persecuted by liars” and made clear he had no plans to remove him from the department. May also said a Facebook group critical of Bynum’s rehiring was “very small” but “very vocal.”

Gil Brazeale, Tripp Brazeale’s father and one of May’s opponents in the sheriff’s race, was present at the press conference. During the exchange, May accused Brazeale of having “a reputation for being a pathological liar.” Brazeale responded, “Could say the same thing about you.”

May then made additional personal accusations about Brazeale, including remarks about debts and his mother’s funeral. Several people at the press conference reacted angrily and questioned the relevance of the comments. May said the remarks were related to Brazeale’s credibility.

The sheriff remarked negatively on Bynum’s firing in Marion and said emphatically that Bynum would not be run off from his department. May is seeking reelection as St. Francis County sheriff. His general election opponents are Republican Tommy Hampton and Democrat Gil Brazeale.

Original reporting: NEA Report (Jonesboro) — read the source article.