Two Moniteau County Sheriff's Department employees have been terminated after what Sheriff Tony Wheatley said were derogatory posts on social media.
As of Monday, jail employee Dillon Davenport and Lt. Kevin Morse were both removed from their positions with the Sheriff's Department.
Wheatley's office was made aware of the posts to Facebook accounts Saturday, according to a Monday news release.
The posts involved making fun of people with disabilities, the Associated Press reported.
Wheatley said he personally "found the items posted to be offensive and showing very poor judgment."
"The Moniteau County Sheriff's Office will not tolerate this type behavior," Wheatley said in the news release. "These posts have tarnished the reputation of the Moniteau County Sheriff's Office and violated the public trust. We as law enforcement need to hold ourselves to a higher standard than the general public and realize that everything we do has an effect on the citizens we serve."
"From what I have come to understand is that this post started as a joke between employees and a mother of one of the employees," Wheatley said in the news release. "This so-called joke was in very poor taste and is not a joking matter. I can assure the public that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.
"I want to thank the public for bringing this issue to my attention so it could be dealt with. Since this issue has come to light, I have been re-evaluating some of our policies and procedures and plan to make further changes to help us better serve the citizens of our community."