Clay County Sheriff’s Office fires detective for posting offensive meme after ICE raid

The Clay County Sheriff’s office has terminated a detective for posting an offensive meme online in response to a federal immigration enforcement effort that led to at least 12 employees arrested at a Mexican restaurant in Liberty earlier this month.

Former detective Tom Butkovich was terminated Tuesday for violating the office’s conduct, expression and social networking policies, said Sarah Boyd, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

The detective posted a photo of President Donald Trump with the words “Time to put the ‘panic’ back in Hispanic” in a Facebook comment on the day that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents raided El Potro Mexican Cafe and Cantina. Butkovich was immediately placed on leave while the department investigated the incident.

“We strongly condemn any actions by our employees that have the potential to erode public trust in our agency,” Boyd said when Butkovich was put on leave. “We want to assure members of our Hispanic community that they will be treated fairly and with respect during any contact with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 12:50 PM.