A former chaplain with the sheriffβs department is claiming he was let go from his volunteer position because of political views expressed on his Facebook page, but the department says his posts violated county policy.
Joohno βJ.K.β Kim, 59, volunteered as a chaplain with the Pima County Sheriffβs Department for 11 years, but was told Thursday that his services would no longer be needed. He was one of several volunteer chaplains with the department.
He said he received a text message that morning from Lt. Nicole Feldt, section commander with the departmentβs community services division, summoning him to the sheriffβs headquarters for a 9 a.m. meeting.
When he replied to say heβd be there, he asked what it was about. He said Feldt told him it was regarding the way that he represented the department.
As a volunteer, Kim said he usually didnβt talk to members of the command staff.
βI had the feeling they were going to let me go,β Kim said.
Kim says Capt. Buddy Janes, administrative services commander, told him that comments heβd made on his Facebook page expressed a political view thatβs not aligned with the departmentβs and thatβs when he was let go.
βIβm very conservative; whatever I talk about my political view is against theirs,β said Kim, who is pastor at Calvary Chapel of Sahuarita. βBut my political view is my political view. What happened to my First Amendment rights?β
Although Janes doesnβt deny the department parted ways with Kim over Facebook posts, he says it wasnβt because of his political views.
βRecently it was brought to our attention that he put some very not-so-good Facebook posts up, including one that was racist,β Janes said. βThis was more of a conduct-type issue, since we hold our employees and volunteers to a higher degree of conduct.β
About three weeks ago, in response to the complaints, a lieutenant emailed Kim several times, asking to talk with him about the posts, Janes said.
All volunteers are notified about county policies when they start, which includes a section about social media, Janes said.
βWe expect the policies in place by the county and department to be followed by all representatives of the sheriffβs department,β he said.
As part of his duties as chaplain to the SWAT team, Kim also attended advanced officer training, which also addresses the social media policy, Janes said.
He denied saying anything to Kim about his political beliefs when they met Thursday.
Janes provided the Star with screenshots of posts from Kimβs Facebook page, which included a derogatory racial reference to Michelle Obama and pictures of Kim wearing nondepartment-issued tactical gear with the sheriffβs department logo.
βHe had a PCSD patch made on his own; we didnβt provide that,β Janes said.
His Facebook page includes many references to guns, anti-President Obama photos and links, military videos and stories, and examples of Kimβs artwork β including drawings of Revolutionary War Minutemen carrying modern-day military rifles.
Kim asserts that Janes specifically said the words βyour political viewsβ during the meeting, and never mentioned anything about racist or otherwise inappropriate posts.
βWhat frustrates me is that in this country, whether you like it or not, our constitutional rights are protected,β Kim said. βFiring me over my personal political view is against the First Amendment. The people who have sworn to uphold the Constitution just violated the law.β
Kim is meeting with an attorney Monday to discuss a possible lawsuit against the department.
βEven if they offer me my position back, I wonβt go back as long as the current command staff is in charge,β he said.
