Alabama police chief suspended after joking Doug Jones groped him
An Alabama police chief has been suspended after joking on Facebook about Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones “fondling him” in 1978.
The off-color quip comes amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against Jones’s special election opponent, Roy Moore.
“On another note, Doug Jones fondled me on a boy scout camping trip in 1978,” Killen police Chief Bryan Hammond wrote in a Facebook comment, as reported by AL.com.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of him being a senator. I was ok with it until now. By the way, you can’t see me right now but I’m crying as I type this.”
{mosads}Hammond also put up a picture of a yearbook signature, which says: “Bryan, Thanks for the great time camping. Doug Jones.”
Hammond was suspended for 15 days without pay.
He told AL.com his comments on Facebook were “sarcasm.”
His comments came in a thread about one of the women who have accused Moore, a former state Supreme Court chief justice, of initiating sexual relationships when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Moore is facing calls to step aside in the Alabama Senate race over the accusations, including from a woman who says she was only 14 at the time he allegedly initiated a sexual encounter with her.
Earlier this month, Beverly Young Nelson alleged Moore sexually assaulted her outside of an Alabama diner when she was 16 years old. During a press conference, she presented a yearbook which contained a signature said to be from Moore.
Moore has denied the allegations against him and has said he plans to continue running in the race.
Earlier this week, his campaign released a series of bullet points meant to contest Nelson’s account.
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