Texas sheriffs slam Seth Meyers joke about shooting black people

PHOTOS: Sheriffs outraged after joke about speeding initiative An Austin-area sheriff wasn't pleased with a joke on late-night TV making fun of his new speeding initiative. >>> See what others had to say about the joke less An Austin-area sheriff wasn't pleased with a joke on late-night TV making fun of his new speeding initiative. PHOTOS: Sheriffs outraged after joke about speeding initiative An Austin-area sheriff wasn't pleased with a joke on late-night TV making fun of his new speeding initiative. >>> See what others had to ... more An Austin-area sheriff wasn't pleased with a joke on late-night TV making fun of his new speeding initiative. Photo: Twitter Photo: Twitter Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Texas sheriffs slam Seth Meyers joke about shooting black people 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

The Williamson County sheriff is not amused by a joke recently made on a late-night TV show making fun of its new initiative to prevent speeders.

Last month, the Austin-area sheriff's office debuted a cardboard cutout sign of one of its deputies holding a radar gun in a school zone. Sheriff Robert Chody tweeted a video of "Deputy Wolf" and said he hopes to add more cutouts throughout the county to slow up the speeders in the area.

Chron.com reported on the cutout cop on January 16.

RELATED: Austin-area county sheriff tries to trick speeders with lifelike signs

Then, the Late Night with Seth Meyers show learned about the initiative and put it in a darker light.

"And even one of those [cardboard cutouts] managed to shoot a black guy," one of the writers on the show said during a segment called "Jokes Seth Can't Tell."

Meyers, who has hosted the show since 2014, is a former Saturday Night Live writer and cast member. Sheriff Chody acknowledged the joke on Twitter on Wednesday night, briefly confusing the show for SNL.

"Well, the #FlatWolf even got mentioned in a @SNLUpdate skit," he said. "Too bad they took the opportunity to use a proactive approach to serve the community and vilify police officers. @sethmeyers @FBCSO @nbcsnl #IKnowItsAJoke #NotAmused"

Chody later corrected his reference to the show.

Meyers has said during previous airings that the segment, Jokes Seth Can't Tell, was designed to tell jokes that would be difficult to deliver for a "straight white male." He said two of his writers — one black woman and one gay woman — deliver the punchlines for him.

The jokes in the segment usually poke fun at race and LGBTQ issues, but other Texas sheriffs say the joke about its speeding initiative went too far.

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Well, the #FlatWolf even got mentioned in a @SNLUpdate skit. Too bad they took the opportunity to use a proactive approach to serve the community and vilify police officers. @sethmeyers @FBCSO @nbcsnl #IKnowItsAJoke #NotAmused pic.twitter.com/ye2cRqeNLl — Williamson County Sheriff Chody (@SheriffChody) February 7, 2019

"Including a Texas Sheriff in their racist jokes is unacceptable," read one tweet from the Sheriffs' Association of Texas, which offers training and legal resources for deputies across the state. "It's time for @nbcsnl to go away. Their time has passed."

That tweet also confused Seth Meyers' new show with SNL.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls chimed into the discussion Wednesday night. His office also used cardboard cutouts in a similar speeding initiative they launched last November.

"Wow. Not amusing at all @SheriffChody," he said.

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.