A Florida sheriff’s deputy was suspended Thursday after he brought iced tea and skittles to his place of work at the Florida County Jail.
Chris Wood was apparently trying to make a point about dividing professional and personal opinions in the workplace, but his superiors didn’t think his gesture was appropriate at all.
Chris Wood was given a written reprimand and is also ordered to attend sensitivity and interpersonal training.
“‘His delivery of that message was completely insensitive to not only the people in the room, and the things that were going on in our community, and our society, at that point, and that’s what stimulated us looking at it,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.
Chris Wood realized what he did was offensive and apologized to his colleagues.
“Deputy Wood obviously underestimated the depth and varying personal opinions of his coworkers and now realizes that his message and delivery was poorly constructed and inappropriate,” Ivey said.
Skittles and iced tea have become very symbolic in the trial of George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin carried these two items when he was shot while walking home in February 2012.
Many people were outraged when Zimmerman was found not guilty last week. Rallies have even been held across the country as activists begged authorities to pursue civil rights charges against Zimmerman.
The rallies were organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and took place in several different cities including Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
Cincinnati resident Chris Donegan said that the Zimmerman trial was very personal to her. “Anybody who is black with kids, Trayvon Martin became our son.”
Shantescia Hill participated in a rally in Miami and held up a sign that read “Every person deserves a safe walk home.” She said that she was at the rally because her children can’t walk on the streets without being scared for their lives.
Do you think the Florida sheriff’s deputy deserved to be suspended?
[Image via Shuttershock ]