Lee deputy in Facebook controversy files for retirement
A Lee County sheriff's deputy under investigation for postings made to his Facebook page has filed for immediate retirement.
Deputy Chuck Quackenbush, 62, had been on paid administrative leave since Wednesday, according to the sheriff's office. Quackenbush, an 11-year veteran of the force, was the subject of an internal investigation into several posts he shared on Facebook that some critics called racist.
Quackenbush's wife, Chris, confirmed Thursday that her husband filed paperwork for retirement.
"I've been after him for a year to do it," she said.
Chris Quakenbush, who is running for Lee County School Board District 7, said her husband has several "exciting" possibilities for future employment.
"With Black Lives Matter and cops under attack, I wouldn't want to go back out on the streets," she said. "You're such a target. People have called him racist; that's incendiary."
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She said her husband was not a racist and has never been one: "He was in the minority community continually," she said.
The sheriff's office on Thursday declined to comment.
Sheriff Mike Scott addressed his Facebook followers Tuesday about the Quackenbush investigation.
"Earlier this afternoon I was made aware of possible inappropriate social media messages attributed to a member of this agency," Scott wrote.
Scott did not identify the deputy by name, but said he would act swiftly.
Quackenbush was hired in 2005 after being embroiled in turmoil as a California politician, according to The News-Press archives. He was elected as insurance commissioner following an earthquake in 1994 and established two foundations meant to aid victims. The foundations came under investigation by the Los Angeles Times that led to charges for a member of his staff. They were painted as a slush fund for Quackenbush's political ambitions, according to The News-Press reports.
Chris Quackenbush said the new complaints filed against her husband are politically motivated and meant to attack her candidacy.
"He has never done anything wrong with regard to racism or anything else," Chris Quackenbush said. "He works hard 12 hours a day protecting a community he loves and comes home and smiles."
Chris Quackenbush said her husband never created any of the Facebook content, but shared posts that were created and shared by conservatives.
"This is the lowest political blow I can possibly imagine," Chris Quackenbush said.
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Quackenbush has since deleted the images on his Facebook page, but screenshots of the images remain, including one shared Aug. 24. The image depicts a black woman protesting next to the image of a skinny black man, whose bones are hugged by his skin with a speech balloon that says, "How do your poor and oppressed get to be so fat?"
A second image shared by Quackenbush on Aug. 15 shows a person walking away with a bundle of items in their hands with the caption: "Looting: when free food, housing, phones, healthcare & education aren't enough."
He previously was placed on administrative leave in 2008 after he shot a suspect in Lehigh Acres. He shot the man after a struggle during an arrest attempt on a domestic battery call when the man grabbed the deputy's Taser and pointed it at him.
It is normal procedure to be placed on leave after a shooting.
Quackenbush was treated for minor injuries, while the suspect received critical injuries.
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