ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that it is conducting an internal investigation into a deputy over comments he made on social media.
Action News Jax has learned that Corporal Greg Suchy has been placed on administrative leave.
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The investigation comes after Cpl. Gregory Suchy posted a comment underneath an Instagram video that shows what appears to be a man who is homeless throwing a rock at a vehicle.
The comment read: “We need like a 3-day open season on the homeless. No bag limit.”
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on the incident Wednesday:
“SJSO was made aware of a complaint regarding Corporal Greg Suchy posting a concerning comment on a video posted to a social media platform. Due to the concerning nature of these comments, the Internal Affairs Unit was requested to handle the investigation. Corporal Suchy has been placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation and resulting disciplinary actions.”
Our radio news partner, 104.5 WOKV, spoke with Sheriff Rob Hardwick last week about the comment:
“I hold my people accountable for their actions,” said Hardwick. There is a process in place since he is sworn, he is protected under the officer bill of rights so of course there is an internal affairs policy that we follow.”
Hardwick adds that the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office works hard on their homeless initiative.
“We got a lot of employees that have invested in this homelessness, of course, in St. Johns County, I think we’ve done a great job especially downtown with our partnership with the City of St. Augustine. So again we hold our people accountable for their actions.”
Hardwick states that they are conducting a thorough investigation and that he is committed to holding officers accountable.
“There’s that fine line too as well you know with the constitutional rights where you have the right to freedom of speech again on your off time but you’re a deputy sheriff in my agency and you’re held to a different standard.”
The Instagram account associated with the post, @gregorytodd72, appears to have been deleted.
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