Deputy on leave for alleged comment posted after Homeland Security seen in Liberty

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - An area sheriff’s deputy is on istrative leave while his alleged online conduct undergoes a “professional standards investigation,” his superiors confirmed Saturday.

According to a statement from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Tom Butkovich was placed on istrative leave “immediately” after the department was made aware of a comment he allegedly left on a Facebook post Friday night.

The Facebook post regarded a Feb. 7, 2025 incident where Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were present at El Potro Mexican Restaurant in Liberty, and managers said they took people into custody.

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Photos and videos of the incident were reshared by dozens of s online. Butkovich allegedly responded to one of those posts using a personal Facebook with his name listed and his headshot as the profile photo. The and its comments have since been removed from public view, and it is not confirmed whether they belonged to Butkovich or were a possible spoof .

The comment was a photo of what appeared to be President Donald Trump pointing a firearm out of a vehicle’s window. The text overlaying the photo indicated that Hispanic Americans should be fearful.

Several s screenshotted the comment and reposted it to their pages, tagging the Clay County Sheriff’s Department.

Clay County Sheriff Will Akin responded to one of these posts with his personal Facebook , stating “That deputy was immediately placed on istrative leave pending a professional standards investigation.” In a separate comment, he asked for people to “spread the word.”

“Other people are also posting this screenshot but I can’t respond on their pages because of their settings,” Akin commented.

On Saturday, the Clay County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement on the incident, confirming Butkovich’s istrative leave and outlining the investigation process:

“Our professional standards (some other agencies call them internal affairs) investigators will gather evidence and conduct interviews with the goal of determining whether the employee violated any of our policies or procedures. In this case, they will be looking at our Conduct policy and our Member Speech, Expression and Social Media policy. Their investigation could always lead them in other directions, too. Investigators also will work to determine whether it was actually the deputy who posted it or if someone happened to clone his and do so.”

A department representative said the findings of the investigation will be made public once it is completed.

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