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Mentor councilman apologizes amid calls for resignation

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Mentor City Councilman Scott Marn is apologizing for his actions involving an incident from last year when he possibly uttered a racial slur and was beaten up outside a restaurant.

An agenda for next week's Mentor City Council meeting shows that his peers will call on him to resign over "gross misconduct and a violation of his oath of office."

Last week, Marn told News 5 he did not use racial slurs that night:

What led to Mentor councilman getting beat up? Debate over possible use of slur

RELATED: What led to Mentor councilman getting beat up? Debate over possible use of slur.

His apology today stated that his "recitation of the facts of the night of September 7, 2024, has been consistent and truthful."

Read his statement below:

"I want to thank my peer on Painesville City Council, Councilman Abney, as well as Reverend Chris Lee, President, for providing my wife and I an opportunity to meet with the Executive Committee of the Lake County NAACP regarding their concerns of the unfortunate events of September 7, 2024. Life is about perspective, and I appreciate the different perspectives shared with me last night surrounding the culturally sensitive issues that have been brought to the forefront as a result of some of the reporting done in the media. My recitation of the facts of the night of September 7, 2024 has been consistent and truthful.

What I haven't done until recently, is reflect on what I could have done differently. Thanks to the discussion with the Executive Committee, I now realize I should not have replied in an emotionally charged and frightened state. It is important to draw our better angels to avoid using any language, specific or inferred, that does not reflect the dignity God has bestowed on all of us as human beings. As I find it in my heart to forgive the violence done to me the night of September 7, it is my hope there is forgiveness in the hearts of of anyone I may have offended in the black community, for which I am sorry. I am looking forward to attending Implicit Biased training. I have tried to live my life with love and openness to all and that will never change.

We all need to continue to work together to keep Lake County the best place to be."

This comes on the heels of a News 5 investigation that aired last week, detailing how Marn was involved in an altercation outside Buffalo Wild Wings last September.

What led to Mentor councilman getting beat up? Debate over possible use of slur

Police report details what happened

Witnesses detailed to Mentor Police how a racial slur was thrown around repeatedly after Marn and his wife, Wendy, got into a fight with then-26-year-old Tony Q Jackson-Davis over how fast Jackson-Davis may have been driving in the parking lot. The police report details how Wendy Marn told police that Councilman Marn called Davis the N-word.

That word can be heard on police body camera video from a woman after first responders arrived, along with a death threat.

Shortly thereafter, body camera video shows Jackson-Davis can be heard yelling at Marn and confessing to throwing a punch.

Last month, Jackson-Davis was sentenced to four to six years after pleading guilty to felonious assault and is now locked up at the Lake County Jail.

Last month, News 5 reported on an unrelated lawsuit filed against Marn and other council members over allegations of retaliation and sexual harassment.

Mentor City Councilmembers sued for alleged participation in, condoning sexual harassment of female employees

RELATED: Mentor City Councilmembers sued for alleged participation in, condoning sexual harassment of female employees

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