Hamilton County, TN - On Friday, June 19, 2020, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a racially offensive social media post suggesting taking violent actions toward those involved with Black Lives Matter.

On this same date, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office initiated a fact finding investigation by our Criminal Investigations Division as well as a parallel internal investigation being conducted by our Internal Affairs Division.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has made the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office aware of the post. We are also coordinating our investigative efforts with the local FBI Office and their specialized units.

There is not an employee who works at the HCSO by the name listed on the social media account therefore HCSO detectives are following all leads and utilizing forensic tools to identify and validate the source of the post. At this point, the suspect who placed the post has not been positively identified as an employee of the HCSO.

“This type of statement or conduct does not reflect our agency’s mission or values, nor will it be tolerated,” stated Sheriff Jim Hammond.

As this is an ongoing criminal investigation, no further information or comments are available at this time.