A former Georgia deputy — who is black — is claiming he was forced out of a job after donning an “afro wig.”

Antonio Perryman, of Dekalb County, Georgia, told investigative reporter Nicole Carr that he was forced out of a job after two decades of service. Perryman says he wore an afro wig while directing traffic outside a courthouse. The wig earned attention from bystanders who took pictures.

“I ‘disgraced the uniform?’ In my mind, I’m up here saying we’ve got a Sheriff runnin’ through Piedmont Park from the police like it’s an episode of cops.” Ex -DeKalb deputy says he was days shy of retirement when he was forced to resign for wearing afro wig on the job @wsbtv at 6 pic.twitter.com/ZGUYZzP48s — Nicole Carr (@NicoleCarrWSB) October 1, 2019

“I ‘disgraced the uniform?’ In my mind, I’m up here saying we’ve got a Sheriff runnin’ through Piedmont Park from the police like it’s an episode of cops,” Perryman said. The former deputy was days away from retirement when the incident created problem enough for him to be dismissed as an officer.

“I said, ‘Hey, you know, let me make people happy, you know? Do something a little different.’ So I put on the Afro wig. Neither time I was out there did I not do my job duties,” he said.

Perryman said he enjoyed people stopping and taking pictures of him directing traffic in the wig.

“You know, that made me feel a little joyous about that being my last week,” he said.

The incident led to a late-night phone call later that night where Perryman was forced to resign.

“I was later informed by Chief Maddox that she and the sheriff were totally upset over the Afro wig and told me that I disgraced the uniform,” he said.

As for his accusation about the “sheriff runnin’ through Piedmont Park from the police,” it stems from a 2017 investigation into Sheriff Jeffrey Mann. Mann was accused of obstruction and indecency, and WSBTV claims there was a video of him running from Atlanta police after allegedly exposing himself to an officer.

Mann eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges. He is currently fighting against his certification as an officer being revoked by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST).

“My plan was to finish with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office with 20 years of service and I got robbed from that,” Perryman said. While the former deputy said he does not expect the resignation to rob him of any pay, it does hit his record as it will not show a proper retirement after 20 years of service.

Perryman’s former Sheriff’s Office is not responding to requests for comments on the matter, but multiple news outlets have filed open records requests for Perryman’s actual file.

Perryman has found a lot of support on social media with many seeing the incident as political correctness gone too far — especially when you consider the fact that there are lawmakers in both the United States and Canada who have troubling histories of donning blackface, but they remain in their positions of authority.

He’s black. He was forced to retire because he wore an Afro wig for fun in his last few days. I gotta be missing something because this is some of the stupidest PC shit I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/cRTrxU3BQq — Orange Muppet Energy (Sunny) (@sunnyright) October 2, 2019

OMG—shame on DeKalb County. — Kara The Democrat (@KaraDemocrat) October 2, 2019

Ridiculous — Lisa Wall (@LisaFWall) October 1, 2019

He should sue — PJO (@pjo1127) October 1, 2019

Looks like a cool toupee to me……Give the man his proper retirement….he deserves it…. — Frank Palmer (@FrankPalmer50) October 1, 2019

And yet the Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam still has his job. — Corn Pop Nietzsche (@Investor4201) October 3, 2019

When the left eats itself. — Rancid Ray (@rancidray) October 3, 2019

Outrageous. White men Ralph Northam and Justin Trudeau can wear blackface and keep their cushy jobs, but a black cop 3 days from retiring is forced to resign because he wore an afro wig? GTFOH Fix this, Dekalb County! https://t.co/alYyK1nFeB — Pepe Leffew (@pepeleffew) October 3, 2019

Give it a break! There is nothing disgraceful about this joke or his costume accessories.

I don’t get this. You’re going to mess up this man’s entire future over a wig when there’s far worse officers aren’t even being prosecuted for. — Alicia Cruz (@Alicia_C_) October 1, 2019