Deputy Demoted

LCSO lieutenant demoted over "offensive" Tik Tok video

LOUDON, Tenn. (WVLT) — According to the Loudon County Sheriff's Office, a lieutenant was demoted after a Tik Tok video surfaced online.

Lieutenant Patrick Upton was demoted to detective according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

"Lieutenant Upton’s decision to post a video that contained very offensive and inappropriate lyrics, while on-duty, while displaying sheriff’s office insignia, in his assigned office, was an extremely poor representation of this agency and the values that we expect of our employees," Sheriff Tim Guider said.

The sheriff's office said the video was removed from social media.

Upton was a supervisor over the Criminal Investigations Division. That department is now supervised by Chief Deputy Jimmy Davis.

From the Desk of Sheriff Tim Guider:

“One of the most important areas of trust that any elected official must handle with care is that of transparency. And as your Sheriff, that sometimes involves having to share information such as this. While it is not my intent to put someone’s error on public display, it is my responsibility to address concerns in our community to any action that brings attention, positive or negative, to the sheriff’s office.

Recently, it was brought to my attention that a LCSO Supervisor had posted some videos of himself on a social media platform known as “Tik Tok”, and that at least one of the videos was possibly inappropriate and a poor reflection of our agency.

Upon being made aware of this incident involving CID Lieutenant Patrick Upton, I immediately opened an investigation to determine what, if any, inappropriate actions had taken place.

After reviewing the video, and interviewing Lieutenant Upton, it was quite clear to me that his conduct in the video was unbecoming of any officer, and especially a ranking member of LCSO’s leadership team.

Lieutenant Upton’s decision to post a video that contained very offensive and inappropriate lyrics, while on-duty, while displaying sheriff’s office insignia, in his assigned office, was an extremely poor representation of this agency and the values that we expect of our employees.

Effective October 24th, Lieutenant Upton was relieved of his supervisory position in our Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and was demoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant.

Detective Sergeant Upton has assured me that the video he made that led to this investigation and demotion has been removed from his social media accounts.

At this time, our CID Division is under the direction of Chief Deputy Jimmy Davis.”

- Sheriff Tim Guider