(CNN) A part-time court deputy with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office was terminated after she was found to have posted a photo on social media showing Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Mike Pence pumpkin carvings and a Kamala Harris carving in a watermelon.
The Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, Detroit Branch NAACP president, told CNN affiliate WXYZ that the post was racist.
"It grows out of (the) past and a recognition that often is linked to buffoonery and to less than," he said.
"We are outraged by this former employee's actions and condemn the behavior she chose to engage in. These type of incidents are disgusting and will never be tolerated or pushed aside at the Sheriff's Office," Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe told CNN in an email. "Behavior such as this brings tarnish to the badge and is not representative (of) all those in law enforcement who protect and serve."
The ex-employee has not been identified. McCabe said the post had been deleted by the time it was brought to their attention. The former employee posted the picture on October 23 and she was fired her the same day they learned about it, on October 27, McCabe told CNN.
grundo1561 on November 21st, 2020 at 15:32 UTC »
The title honestly doesn't even do it justice
It's not even that they made her out of watermelon, it's that they made her the ONLY watermelon carving among pumpkins
cambeiu on November 21st, 2020 at 12:51 UTC »
People talk a lot about the South, but I lived in Michigan for a year and I swear to God, that state can give Alabama or Mississippi a run for their money in terms of racism.
FC37 on November 21st, 2020 at 12:48 UTC »
Context is everything here. Would I find well-executed watermelon carvings of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cool? Of course I would! Watermelon is delicious and you can play with three different colors: red, white, and green.
But this?
Yeah, that's racist as hell.