A former Alabama sheriff’s deputy who went on a homophobic Facebook tirade after a gay teenager took his own life just landed a new gig with a different Alabama law enforcement agency.
Jeff Graves was fired from his position as Madison County sheriff’s deputy in May after he went on Facebook to mock the death of 15-year-old Nigel Shelby, a Huntsville, Alabama teenager who died by suicide the previous month after he was bullied relentlessly for being gay.
Responding to another Facebook user’s post about Shelby, Graves called the entire LGBTQ movement “fake,” said that he was “seriously offended” by gay people, and declared that “society cannot and should not accept this behavior.”
Immediately afterwards, he was put on administrative leave from his job and an internal investigation was launched that soon “uncovered multiple violations of both county and sheriff’s office policies.” As a result, he was asked to resign from his position as Madison County sheriff’s deputy.
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Now, less than two months later, Graves is back on the job! Only he’s working for a different police department.
On Monday, he began his first shift working as Owens Cross Roads newest police recruit. And they couldn’t be prouder to have him!
“He’s an officer here,” Owens Cross Roads Police Chief Jason Dobbins confirmed.”We feel he will be a good addition to the department.”
Speaking to local news station WHNT, Dobbins went on to say he believes Graves has learned his lesson and is “remorseful” for his behavior. He also said he feels confident that Graves will be able to serve all the residents of Owens Cross Roads, including members of the LGBTQ community, because, he notes, “justice is blind.”
“Everybody deserves a second chance,” Dobbins said.
Yeah, try saying that to the family of the 15-year-old child who was driven to suicide by homophobic bullies like Officer Graves.
Cam
Bigots protect each other. Wait for the furor to die down and then hand the bigot a job in a different county.
prarie pup
Yep, that’s pretty much how it works. You can thank the cop’s union and their high-priced lawyers for that…ironically, both are funded by the very same taxpayers the cops screw over.
Chrisk
I don’t even understand how. This is a “public service” job that requires you to serve the public. Last I heard gay people represented the public as well.
A second chance you’d give someone that acted rebellious in their say teenage years. This is a grown ass bigot that just said he was offended that gay people even exist. Only another bigot would say he’s an ok guy.
rarediel
It’s Alabama.
sfmike64
Bet you a million dollars he thinks he’s a “christian.” Excuse me, I need a drink.
Wicked Dickie
Are you all surprised? The same cops that get off for shooting unarmed people, if they get fired, they just move to the next county and get hired on by that police department. The Blue Line crosses counties, cities and the country.
poundmetoo
Stop with the ignorant statements!
Gay Veteran
This is why racial minorities and certain members of the LGBT community mistrust the police. How can you trust someone like this to protect and serve when they don’t even value your life.
Chaucer
Fire the “hiring official”–
Chaucer
I didn’t get to finish my comment. As a man from Alabama, I suspect we can have no expectations for an acceptable level of decency, human values, or intellectual sophistication. And he was elected by people whose views and values he represents. Shameful….just shameful.
jsmu
@poundmetoo Stop with the imbecilic trollposts! Begone, sewer scum. You have no place here.
jsmu
Alabammy GODDAMN. To paraphrase Nina Simone
darklight413
Another trump gestapo POS.
BigRedEO
Are we really surprised? It’s Talibama after all.
justgeo
Do the DEAD get a second chance castrate the motha and watch him bleed to death makes me wanna puke!
voyy
Cops are a gang protected by the government…They support the wealthy …they treat the poor very differently than other people. I live in a poor neighborhood, the police are not our friends.
pharaon.em.joe
Shame. Shame. Shame. Shame!
Scott Amundsen
You know something? I hope that sonofabitch gets killed. I am SICK unto DEATH of watching members of MY FAMILY, who have committed NO CRIMES, get cut down in the prime of life and the BASTARDS that do it walk away!
Jon in Canada
And people wonder why I don’t care when a cop is killed anymore. I refuse to see them as nothing more than what they are, an extension of a crime syndicate AKA just another gang.
BShade77
backwoods bitches
screwtop
A second opportunity to do what? Terrorise members of the LGBTQ community? Stampede over people of colour? Bash members of the indigenous community?
People like him have no brains, no shame, no morality, no decency, and no hope of “turning good”, because there’s something missing from their heads.
Jim
DISGUSTING! In the warped world of Frump and his criminal family and government, this kind of bullshit is allowed. I will guarantee this asshole of a human feels NO remorse and will continue on his homophobic path until he goes straight to Hell at death. Which can’t be soon enough.
hotshot70
Share this homophobe’s name and face everywhere and let this police force know the boy who killed himself and his family don’t get a second chance
nm4047
He’s an adult, all be it an uneducated bigot, with many white privileged exceptions (black or juvenile) adults don’t get 2nd chance under the law.
batesmotel
I don’t how anyone can mock a suicide regardless of who did that. This man has issues beyond hating gays. His hatred is spread far and wide about everything apparently. He should be put to sleep. No reason for him to be here.
James Hart
“He should be put to sleep.”
You sound like Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin.
Don’t you believe in freedom? You want a dictatorship in this nation?
Chipper
The only thing he should be allowed to do is work in the local sewer plant.
Dwight
It’s a misleading article. He wasn’t rehired. He got a new job. He’s not back on THE job. He’s at a different job. Should they have hired him? Certainly not, but they didn’t need to try to make it appear as if he is back at his original job that he was asked to leave.
JanDivine
Again, Alabama. Is anyone stupid enough to believe that this cop would try to stop any suicidal gay kid from killing him / her self? He is offended by the very existence of the kid. A second chance to do it again? Again, Alabama.
Kangol2
Soulless scumbag, but is anyone surprised?
RomanHans
Really, Queerty? The comment below has been in “moderation” for 12 hours?
“Google Owens Cross Roads Police. You will see a tab where you can review them. I did. I don’t think bigots should enforce the law or have guns.”
Chrisk
It’s Queerty’s stupid commenting system. If you edit the comment in any way it will place it under permanent waiting for moderator approval. It’s laziness on their part since this should be an easy fix. Oh and don’t say a naughty word. Children might be reading this I guess.
fur_hunter
Thank you. And excuse me. Do you know they held some of my postings in moderation forever just because I used some ‘at’ symbol for an ‘A’, a dollar sign for an ‘S’, an exclamation point for an ‘i’ and an eight for a ‘B’….so I could spell out some nice juicy words? Like children are reading these postings. Total morons. One reason I like Joe My God. You can say whatever you want on that site.
Ronbo
America tracks sales of nasal decongestants; but, we are unable to track corrupt cops and police who are wholly unfit for the job?!?
Until there is a system of accountability for tracking these PROVEN cases, justice is NOT served. Cops should not investigate cases of coworkers… it’s prima facia corruption. Faith in justice is destroyed by this standard act of corruption.
GayEGO
So Jeff has learned his lesson? We shall see!
fur_hunter
I knew it was Alabama or Mississippi before I even read the article to find out. These two states are the lowest on the educational scale for ALL the states. I feel sorry for the literate people who live there. Those states are filled with ignorant, intolerant imbecilic bigots. Sad.
whateverokok
According to the article the 15-year-old child was driven to suicide by homophobic bullies like Officer Graves. We need to be honest with ourselves and address the real issue here. This kid didn’t commit suicide because if bullies.
He committed suicide because he had some underlying mental health issues that were not addressed. Not to take away from bullying, but people have bullied for centuries and most don’t commit suicide over it. This community has a real issue that needs to be addressed and I hope it does so soon.
ocahan
I think you have underlying issues. Write without contradicting yourself, and just how well did you know Nigel?
whateverokok
I don’t know nigel at all, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that someone who commits suicide has some underlying mental issues. That’s no knock against Nigel. It’s just another aspect to an already sad story. One that could’ve had a different outcome if treated. Which is my whole point.