ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Johns County deputy has been placed on administrative leave after a controversial public comment on a social media site sparked an internal investigation, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday.
The investigation comes after Cpl. Gregory Suchy posted a comment underneath an Instagram video that shows what appears to be a man who is homeless throwing a rock at a vehicle. The comment read: “We need like a 3 day open season on the homeless. No bag limit.”
“Due to the concerning nature of these comments (which are disturbing and not a reflection of SJSO values), the Internal Affairs Unit was requested to handle this investigation,” an SJSO spokesman told News4JAX.
The sheriff’s office also confirmed Suchy was on the PACE Unit, which stands for Public Affairs Community Engagement. The unit is tasked with going out into the public and building rapport and community trust.
A post on SJSO’s Facebook page shows Suchy acting as a member of that team making meals for the elderly.
News4JAX obtained a copy of Suchy’s discipline record, which showed he was hired by SJSO almost 26 years ago.
For the most part, the record shows he received many positive actions.
However, on May 23, 2007, there were three allegations against him. According to his record, Suchy had allegations against him for:
- Sound judgment, meaning to respect and protect the rights of individuals
- Insubordination
- Untruthfulness
All allegations were found to be “sustained,” and he received a letter of reprimand.
Underneath each of those allegations, it reads “Also removed as unit ASL,” so News4JAX reached out to the sheriff’s office asking what “ASL” meant.
According to the sheriff’s office, “Assistant Section Leader (ASL) is the old designation for Corporal. A Corporal is an assistant supervisor (to a Sergeant).”
News4JAX asked SJSO for clarification on Suchy’s removal from the unit ASL, and when he was promoted to corporal, but at the time of this publication, we hadn’t heard back.
On April 12, 2012, there was an allegation of Failure to submit evidence, 42.1.11 (8). The allegation was Sustained and he received a consultation form.
On December 15, 2022, Cpl. Suchy received allegations of a Policy Violation. It was sustained and the penalty was the loss of the taken home vehicle for a short period of time.
Officials said Suchy will remain on administrative leave during the investigation and is not engaged with the public.
According to SJSO, the investigation process takes time. However, officials shared with News4JAX their standards of professional guidelines, which talk about social media. It says:
“Employees have the right to use personal/social networking pages or sites, however, as members of this agency, they are public servants who are held to a higher standard than the general public with regard to standards of conduct and ethics.”
News4JAX has reached out to Suchy several times to see if he wanted to comment on his actions. We’re still waiting to hear back.
