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A Sheriff’s Deputy Was Caught on Video Yelling the N-Word. He Wasn’t Fired.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Billy Littleton has been suspended for 30 days without pay and will be placed on probation for a full year.
​Screenshot of a viral video showing Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Billy Littleton​ yelling a racial slur.
Screenshot of a viral video showing Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Billy Littleton yelling a racial slur. (Twitter/amarahmae)

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A Tennessee sheriff’s deputy will remain on the force despite screaming out hate speech on video.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Billy Littleton has been suspended for 30 days without pay and will be placed on probation for a full year when he returns, after a video of him screaming “fucking n-----s” in the backseat of a car went viral on social media.

Social media users identified Littleton, who after being confronted by his superior, Sheriff Tommy Jones, on Saturday, admitted it was him in the video.

The five-second video provides little context as to who the officer was yelling at or what he was doing in the backseat of the car. The incident took place while Littleton, an eight-year veteran of the department, was off-duty and on his own property, according to Monroe County Deputy Chris White. The woman seen recording the video from the driver’s-side seat has not yet been identified.

"I’m highly appalled by the language, language that is not supported by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, and it will not be tolerated,” Sheriff Jones told local NBC affiliate WBIR.

In addition to the unpaid suspension and the probation, which could end in termination if Littleton breaks any department policies, he will also have to attend racial sensitivity training and will be barred from earning a promotion to sergeant.

“I want to maintain the trust of Monroe County,” Jones also told the outlet. “We do take this very seriously. We will do everything to change this behavior and to do our due diligence."

Littleton’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.