An Ohio police chief has resigned after surveillance cameras captured the moment he left a sign reading "Ku Klux Klan" on the desk of a Black officer.
As reported by NBC News, footage captured by cameras at the Sheffield Lake Police Department in Ohio shows veteran chief Anthony Campo printing the note and placing it on the raincoat belonging to a Black colleague.
The incident - which occurred on June 25 in the department’s booking area- was then brought to the attention of Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring by the police union.
Watch the moment unfold in the video below:Campo was immediately placed on administrative leave as the footage was reviewed, but Cleveland.com now reports that he has now retired from the police.
Speaking about the conversation he had with the former chief, Mayor Bring said, per NBC affiliate WKYC of Cleveland: "I said, 'I don't want to even hear about it.
"I said, 'You've already have admitted to it.' And I said, 'You've got 10 minutes to get out of this office.' I said, 'I want your keys, badge and that’s it. Get out.'"
Bring also revealed that he has spoken to the Black officer involved in the incident and apologized for Campo's behavior.
"It took us 10 minutes to even talk to each other because we were both very emotional," Bring said. "And I apologized to him. We talked about the situation and he told me a little bit more. I was just flabbergasted. There's no one word to explain how disgusting this is."
In a phone interview with WKYC, Campo explained that the incident was supposed to be an "off-color" joke that has been "overblown". Campo added that he has great respect for the Black officer, whom he hired.
However, Mayor Bring has responded to Campo's comments, saying: "How can you possibly think that you can put something on somebody’s jacket like that, and especially if they were African American, and think this is a joke?
"This is the most egregious and offensive thing you could possibly do. And it’s embarrassing and disgusting."
According to NBC, Campo has been in the police for three decades, and became a chief eight years ago.