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Florida Officer Suspended over Facebook Post

After describing a county office as a "circus" on the social media site, the officer was suspended for 3 days.

(TNS) -- A deputy was suspended for three days for posting on social media while on duty, complaining about members of the public while doing so and posting a comment about a shooting investigation, according to a St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigation.

Deputy Mark Sarvis was given the three-day suspension last month after investigators reviewed eight Facebook posts he made in October and November. The Sheriff's Office's social media policy states its employees should use discretion about posting statements that could discredit the agency. Employees are prohibited from posting while on duty unless the posts are for public information or investigative purposes.

Sarvis was assigned for off-duty security detail to the St. Lucie County Tax Collector's Office. In his Facebook posts, he referred to the place as "the circus office," called some of the customers "crazies" and complained about some of the questions they asked him.

In November, Sarvis shared a news article about the Nov. 19 shooting death of Glenda Ruth Gregory. Gregory's fiancé, Philip Anthony Nisa Jr., 52, shot her and claimed it was an accidental shooting. He grabbed the gun because he thought an intruder was in their home, the Sheriff's Office said.

"How do you accidentally shoot someone and kill them?" Sarvis wrote on the post.

The Sheriff's Office said Sarvis should not have published his opinion on the case because he had no involvement in it and it was still under investigation at the time. Detectives in December concluded the shooting was an accident.

©2016 the Treasure Coast Newspapers (Stuart, Fla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.