MADISON COUNTY, AL—
An employee with the Madison County Sheriff's Office is on administrative leave after some questionable photos surfaced on Facebook. The alleged inappropriate conduct took place when he was off duty. The photos were taken at a Halloween party.We broke this story Tuesday on WHNT NEWS 19 at Noon.
A concerned citizen contacted WHNT NEWS 19 about the photos after seeing them on a friend's Facebook page. In two of the photos, women are on the hood of the deputy's patrol car in suggestive poses.
The concerned citizen delivered the photos to WHNT NEWS 19, saying the photos and a letter expressing concern had also been sent to several people, including Madison County Sheriff Blake Dorning, Captain Jackie East, Chief Deputy Chris Stevens, Madison County Commissioners Mike Gillespie and Dale Strong, and Alabama Governor Bob Riley.
WHNT NEWS 19 contacted the sheriff's office about the photos. Sheriff Dorning had not received them yet, so we showed him and other department heads the ones the citizen provided to us. After reviewing the photos, they told us they have placed the employee on administrative leave. WHNT NEWS 19 has the employee's name, but we are withholding it for the time being.
"The Madison County Sheriff's Office (by written policy) maintains the highest standards of professional conduct on behalf of all employees both on and off duty hours," said Investigator Chad Brooks. "The Office is currently conducting a full, internal investigation of the incident, and the employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome."
Brooks said the Sheriff's Office will not comment further on the matter until the investigation is complete.
"Sheriff Blake Dorning, on behalf of the entire Sheriff's office, wishes to express appreciation to all those who brought this matter to our attention," continued Brooks. "We further wish to assure that all matters of this nature will be investigated swiftly and completely."
People are talking about this story. WHNT NEWS 19 talked to a few people about it Tuesday night.
"What is going on?" asked student Keith Ramey.
"Oh my God," said student Karmen Lattimore.
WHNT NEWS 19 stopped by a local coffee shop to get reaction to the story. The story focuses on pictures taken at a Halloween party. One of the people in the pictures is a Madison County Sheriff's Deputy. WHNT NEWS 19 is not releasing the name of the deputy. The person who provided the pictures to WHNT NEWS 19 says a woman in the picture works for the city of Huntsville.
City officials say they are looking at the photos and trying to figure out if she gets a paycheck from the city.
Karmen Lattimore is a college student who uses Facebook more often than she'd like to admit. She feels a person hired to serve and protect should not put themselves on display in a questionable way.
"They're supposed to be upholding the law. He is in his police car. I could see if it was his personal car," added Lattimore.
Keith Ramey is also a student, though he does not use Facebook that much, he has his own thoughts about the person who holds a badge being in the photo.
"If that's supposed to be an officer of the law, that is not acceptable by any means," added Ramey.
Max Lindeman works on computers for a living. He looked at the pictures and was not offended by the deputy's alleged actions.
Lindeman only frowned on the fact that a deputy's patrol car was caught on camera. He says his money should not be paying for a prop used for entertainment at a Halloween party.
"I have to work hard for my money. I have to be efficient with my money. I don't have much money. I have been poor for a long time. I I don't like to see waste," said Lindeman.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office release a statement telling WHNT NEWS 19 it is conducting a full internal investigation. The sheriff's office says it will not speak on any part of this matter until the investigation is over.
The city of Huntsville is also doing their own investigation to identify the person in the photo. Once it is completed, we're told the employee's department head will investigate the matter to determine if a violation of city policy occurred.
