Ga. deputy fired for racist activity

ExploreA white Georgia sheriff’s deputy has been terminated and another white officer abruptly resigned following an internal affairs investigation that uncovered racist and sexist messages they sent each other on Facebook, including one that described what appeared to be an effort to target black motorists.

The two officers — both former McIntosh County sheriff’s deputies — sent offensive jokes back and forth through the Facebook’s messaging service and used texting shorthand “lol” to indicate laughter.

One joke referred to “colored people” and another used the word “n—— ,” according to records reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Another showed an image of Martin Luther King Jr. and denigrated his most famous speech.

“I have a dream. That one day my people will not act like animals,” posted Brant Gaither, the McIntosh deputy who was terminated July 25. The other officer, Jeremy Owens, resigned from the Darien police department on July 26.

ExploreThe posts have drawn the attention of the Southern Center for Human Rights, which is planning to ask the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the situation.

McIntosh County Sheriff Stephen Jessup says he won’t tolerate racism in his department and moved swiftly to fire Gaither.

“There was never any question of what I needed to do and I did it,” Jessup said. “I do not tolerate that in my department.”

For the full story go to myajc.com.

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