ST. LOUIS – A west-central Illinois county sheriff has come under fire after making a derogatory post on Facebook, in which he referred to a co-worker as a “little fag jew boy.”
Sheriff Don Schieferdecker of Schuyler County, Ill., said he made the comment after returning home from a long work night. He posted it to the Facebook page of a dispatcher, who had commented “Look I found a fag,” and posted a photo of another dispatcher.
Schieferdecker responded, “Yup and his mouth is open, his glasses are off, he’s ready, little fag jew boy.”
Now, The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), an Illinois’ statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, has called for Schieferdecker’s resignation.
“It is absolutely incomprehensible that an elected official would use such language to refer to a subordinate,” stated Anthony Martinez, Executive Director of TCRA.
Schieferdecker said he didn’t realize everyone could see the comment, which he said was intended only as harmless teasing. Acting on a tip, Crime Crawlers broke the story and captured screen shots of the Sheriff’s Facebook page before it was deleted.
“It was a – what I thought to be a harmless joke between friends and employees that I wasn’t aware of that was going out worldwide,” Schieferdecker told AOL News. “I mean it was a response to a joke and it was sent out as a joke.”
Schieferdecker, who has been the Schuyler Country Sheriff for more than 30 years, told AOL he regrets his remarks, which he called an “embarrassing situation” but said he has no plans of resigning.
