Anthony Campo, chief of the Sheffield Lake Police Department, resigned after spending 33 years with the Ohio police.
His resignation came after Mayor Dennis Bring put Campo on administrative leaving, following an incident with a Black officer.
In a surveillance video, published by clevland.com, Campo is seen putting a sign reading "Ku Klux Klan" on top of his fellow officer's yellow rain coat.
The coat was laid out to resemble the cloak and hood of the infamous White supremacy group.
The targeted officer—who has yet to be named—brought the incident to the attention of the police union, who then contacted Mayor Bring.
These good-ole-boys cling to there racism, hate, and guns...that's what they call they're christian values!pic.twitter.com/rfy41q7BsV— jeep000007 (@jeep000007) 1625193887
So what is happening to the others in his office? I saw someone else in Campo\u2019s office. We should investigate if he was involved.— Bella K (@Bella K) 1625625220
And I'm sure he wasn't at that Klan rally they had in Wellington last week right....— Tommy__tufftits (@Tommy__tufftits) 1625221518
Their token \u201cAfrican American \u201c.— Nonaura65 (@Nonaura65) 1625575837
It\u2019s Ohio.. where minorities are welcome as long as they don\u2019t live next door.— scars4eyes (@scars4eyes) 1625242635
Bring put Campo on administrative leave, until he saw the surveillance video, after which Campo was fired immediately.
As reported by The Huffington Post:
"He made a joke, 'Am I gonna get fired over this?' And I looked at the law director and I handed him his paper and he says, 'After 30 years, this is what I get?' I said, 'you have ten minutes to get out of your office."
Following his dismissal, Campo tendered his resignation, which was accepted by the city.
Many questioned whether his resignation should be accepted, as it possibly allows him to keep his pension and benefits.
This is a case where the resignation should of been rejected and right after you reject the resignation you fire him— Remember, You Matter (@Remember, You Matter) 1625251006
He should not be allowed to resign. Fire him for cause— JRZ (@JRZ) 1625240476
Strip his pension— keiththesoso (@keiththesoso) 1625252374
Campo—who was chief for eight years—earned a yearly salary of $86,835.43.
It's unclear if resigning instead of waiting for the city to fire him allows Campo to preserve any retirement or other benefits accrued during his time with the department.
