Lexington sheriff’s office disavows deputy who said it ‘supports’ fired Columbia cop
A Lexington County deputy faced backlash from his department after social media posts that showed support for a fired Columbia police officer who used a racial slur.
Deputy Gary Hinton of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department made posts on Facebook that told former Columbia officer Chad Walker the “department supports you.”
The Columbia Police Department recently fired Walker for two policy violations that resulted from an exchange with citizens in Five Points. During that confrontation, Walker used a racial slur at least twice.
In a video of the incident, Walker claimed he was repeating a name he was called.
In the posts, Hinton also said the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department was hiring and told Walker “we’d love to have you!”
Walker replied that he’d look into employment at the department.
In a statement, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said it “addressed this situation with the deputy” and that Hinton was disciplined.
Department spokesperson Capt. Adam Myrick called the online exchange a personal interaction in which “a deputy does not speak for Sheriff Koon, the department or represent human resources.”
Walker has not applied at Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and “is not a candidate for employment,” Myrick said.
Hinton was a fellow officer with Walker at the Columbia Police Department for 12 years, police records show. He left the department in 2018 and started working at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department the same year.