King County Detective On Leave After Facebook Posts Surface

SEATTLE, WA — A King County detective is on leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation into "concerning" social media posts, the sheriff's office announced Monday.

The posts in question were shared on a Facebook account belonging to an employee identified on social media as Mike Brown. Screenshots of several Facebook posts were shared widely on Twitter late Sunday night, containing offensive references to two protesters hit by a car Saturday morning and earlier derogatory remarks about a young man killed in a shooting at the Capitol Hill Organized Protest area in June.

A spokesman for the sheriff's office said Brown, employed since 1980, works as a detective assigned to King County Executive Dow Constantine's protection detail. Constantine's office declined to comment, telling Patch, "This is a King County Sheriff's Office internal personnel matter and an open investigation."

According to a news release, Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht ordered an expedited investigation to begin on Monday morning.

"The employee was immediately placed on administrative leave and all his police powers have been suspended," the sheriff's office wrote. "Other Sheriff's Office employees who may have participated via reactions or comments on the posts will also be investigated."

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, who serves District 2 in Seattle, posted a statement on Twitter Monday afternoon.