Florida deputy fired after social media post about nearly shooting someone

A Florida deputy was fired Thursday after a photo he allegedly posted on social media shows him boasting about almost shooting someone.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri fired deputy Austen Callus, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The photo of Callus, 23, was posted June 25 on Snapchat, a visual messaging application. The caption read "Nothing like almost shooting someone to set your head right lol. God I gate [sic] people with knives." The word "gate" apparently is a misspelling of the word "hate."

Callus was not wearing his uniform in the Snapchat photograph. He was put on administrative leave Wednesday, the Times reported.

Gaultieri told the Times that the photo raises doubts about Callus’ mindset while on duty.

“If you make that kind of a statement ... you’re not going to be employed here as a deputy sheriff because it calls into question your thoughts, your motives,” Gualtieri said. “[It] certainly leaves the deputy and the agency in a very bad situation if something were to happen in the future.”

The Snapchat picture was shared on Facebook by Joseph Wood, who told Bay News 9 that he attended high school with Callus and the woman who sent him the image.

“She doesn’t live in the state anymore, and I got hold of her because me and her went together to high school, too,” Wood told Bay News 9. “She messaged me back and she told me who it was, and that’s when I realized that I also went to school with him.”

Contacted via Facebook, Wood declined to say who sent the photo to him.

“I won’t tell who told me,” he said. “I asked her to send me the picture and I posted it.”

According to Wood's Facebook profile, he attended Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, Florida. Callus is listed on Classmates.com as a 2012 Boca Ciega graduate.

Investigators interviewed Callus, who admitted to posting the photo and caption Sunday on Snapchat, WTSP reported.

In a news conference, Gualtieri said Callus had been experiencing “troubled times.” He added there was no knife in the incident Callus was referring to, and there was no one to shoot.

“This isn’t about social media,” Gualtieri said. “This is about the statement.”

Callus was hired on Nov. 28, 2016, WTSP reported. He finished his field training on May 27, the Times reported.

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