Linda A. Moore

linda.moore@commercialappeal.com

A Shelby County Corrections Division official who shared a Facebook post that showed support for the Ku Klux Klan and claimed President Obama is an "illegal president" resigned Tuesday afternoon.

David Barber, who was counseled by superiors and told to remove his Facebook page, resigned after the postings became public.

"Although Barber's comments were personal on his Facebook page, his occupation at the Shelby County Corrections Center was evident to anyone who accessed the page," the release from the county stated. The statement was on the letterhead of William Gupton, director of corrections for the county.

County Mayor Mark Luttrell said he learned of Barber's Facebook posts on Friday and that for the county, what to do was a "delicate balance."

Barber made his post on his own computer, on his own server and on his own time, Luttrell said.

"The question is whether or not this is a private citizen exercising free speech or if this is a public official who was held accountable for his speech in the public arena," Luttrell said."There is a fundamental right to free speech here."

The county attorney was consulted, but Luttrell would not disclose the details of the conversation.

Luttrell also said the administration does not typically apprise the County Commission on personnel maters.

But commission Chairman Melvin Burgess believes the administration should have acted much differently this time and Barber should have been fired on "day one."

"We’re getting calls now from employees who can't believe they’ve been working around a man with this level of insensitivity ," Burgess said. "There is no prescription for those kind of beliefs and attitudes. There is nowhere this should be accepted and I am disappointed in the leadership and how it was handled."

He is considering a special called meeting of the commission on Friday to discuss Barber's behavior and county administration's response.

When he read about the posts, County Commissioner Mark Billingsley, chairman of the law enforcement, corrections and courts committee, said he was "speechless and disappointed." He also noted that the commission had not been advised about Barber's Facebook posts.

No tolerance for bigotry

"Insensitive comments like this continue to set us back and this cannot continue. We have to expect much, much more out of our county staff," Billingsley said.

Barber, corrections division's deputy director and a mayoral appointee, had been with the county 17 years. He shared on his Facebook page posts from The Free Patriot.

Gupton, who is African-American, said he counseled Barber about the severity of his actions, especially the post about the KKK. He said that Barber was apologetic and said he regretted drawing negative attention to the county. Gupton added that it is not his call to determine any discipline for Barber.

"It’s not my call. It is the CAO (chief administrative officer) and the mayor’s office call. It was my call to make sure they had all the information pertinent to the issue, " Gupton said.