Madison County deputy resigns over anti-LGBTQ social media post

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - A Madison County deputy who was on leave after making controversial comments on social media has resigned.

The comments had to do with the LGBTQ community. The now-deleted post was in response to a news story referencing the suicide of 15-year-old Nigel Shelby. Nigel was gay and took his own life after battling depression and bullying.

In the post, the deputy had a different version of what he said LGBTQ should stand for and said he was offended by the movement.

A Madison County sheriff's deputy posted this on social media.

Friday evening‚ the sheriff’s office sent the following statement:

"The Madison County Sheriff’s Office was recently made aware of comments made by one of our Deputies on a local news station’s social media site. The comments were posted to a story about a local teen, who according to the news reports, was allegedly bullied for being gay and as a result, tragically took his own life.

When the Sheriff’s Office was made aware of the comments posted by our Deputy an internal investigation was immediately launched, and the Deputy was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome. The investigation, which concluded this week, uncovered multiple violations of both County and Sheriff’s Office policies. In accordance with policy, a hearing on the allegations and policy violations was held today, and the Deputy resigned from employment with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office effective immediately.

Sheriff Kevin Turner said, ‘The Madison County Sheriff’s Office mission is to serve ALL citizens of Madison County, regardless of their gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. We must be able to serve and protect everyone without hesitation, and if we don’t have the community’s trust we can’t succeed in our mission. I hold myself and every other employee of the Sheriff’s Office to a high standard, and we will not lower that standard. As one of the few Sheriff’s Offices in the southeast to earn CALEA accreditation, we have shown we can achieve a high level of professionalism. I can assure everyone that we will constantly strive to ensure that our agency does not just stay at its current level but continues to look for ways to improve. I appreciate the patience and trust the community has afforded us during this investigation, and I hope with the closure of this investigation we can move forward and continue to build on our partnerships within the community.’"

When the deputy was placed on leave, Turner said, “Bullying of any group or person in or outside of schools is unacceptable, and I welcome any and all efforts to raise awareness to bullying and bring bullying to a stop. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is proud of the community support and engagement we have received over the years, and we look forward to growing those community partnerships."