A Bradley County Sheriff's Office deputy has resigned after a "controversial" post on his personal Facebook profile caught the attention of his supervisor, according to a BCSO news release.
The post had been published on Facebook late Thursday night and by 10:45 a.m. on Friday, he had been called into his supervisor's office, at which time he voluntarily turned in his resignation letter. The letter stated "due to health conditions and other reasons beyond my control I hereby tender my resignation from the Bradley County Sheriff's Dept. effective immediately."
The Facebook post, which has since been removed, did not meet the level of professionalism expected of a BCSO employee, the release states.
"The language exhibited on this former deputy's Facebook was unacceptable and will not be tolerated by any of my officers or staff," Sheriff Steve Lawson said in the release. "Less than 12 hours passed from time the post was published to the time his resignation was tendered. Such behavior will not be tolerated under my administration."
The resignation is the latest in a string of incidents that have occurred in the wake of the recent protests in the Chattanooga area.
Also on Thursday, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office announced it is investigating whether a threatening social media comment was posted by one of its deputies, calling Black Lives Matter protesters "target practice."
A longtime Chattanooga firefighter was recently fired based on findings that he posted "inappropriate" Facebook posts on his personal page, and a police officer in Rossville, Georgia, was also fired after he shared a post on social media and added a racially insensitive comment.
Even a bartender and band member with fans in the Chattanooga music scene recently lost his job, and the fate of his band is uncertain, after he made a Facebook post stating "the protests are starting to agitate me," among other remarks.