Investigation continues into former Lee County sheriff’s deputy

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that an investigation into Facebook posts made by a since-retired deputy is not over, a day after the deputy insisted that it had ended.

Chuck Quackenbush, who filed retirement papers last week shortly after the investigation began, could face criminal charges depending on the findings, WINK News has learned.

The sheriff’s office is looking into a series of posts involving memes in which nearly everyone is black. Quackenbush said in a press conference Tuesday that they were intended to be supportive of law enforcement.

“All the posts I’ve ever made were geared against criminals and in favor of the victims,” he said.

Dr. Judith Piesco, who filed the complaint that led to the investigation, believes the posts were racist.

 

“They were among the most racist things that I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said.

The sheriff’s office bars deputies from using social media to post “sexual, violent, racial [and] ethnically derogatory material.” Their policy also prohibits use of the Internet in any way that could be detrimental to the agency.

Quackenbush and his wife, Lee County school board candidate Chris Quackenbush, believe the motive behind the investigation is political. Piesco was a 2004 candidate for the Lee County school board. Chuck Quackenbush serves as the vice chair of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee.