ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Two Orange County deputies were reprimanded after an investigation found they both used a racial slur while on the job, according to the sheriff’s office on Tuesday.
According to investigative reports, one of the deputies — Sgt. Lance Carlson — had been under investigation after teaching Basic Recruit Training classes in 2021.
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As part of those classes, Carlson used a racial slur to prepare deputies for “language they will hear in the community,” the reports state.
In addition, the report says he told real-life stories during these classes while using the racial slur to explain why the term was inappropriate.
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During an interview in January 2022, Carlson reportedly told investigators that he had been training deputies for the past 20 years, and he hadn’t received any negative feedback for the BRT classes.
“Sergeant Carlson explained he has heard African American deputies refer to each our (sic) as ‘(expletive)’ in uniform while working for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office,” the report reads. “Sergeant Carlson also explained he has heard citizens interact with African American deputies, and the term ‘(expletive)’ was used in dialogue between them.”
In August 2023, another deputy — Lt. Ryan Olsson — hosted a meeting for the department’s Professional Standards Section regarding the investigation into Carlson’s language.
During that meeting, Olsson spoke the racial slur to describe what the investigation was about, according to another investigative report.
As a result, the sheriff’s office said an official complaint was filed against Olsson, and he too came under investigation to determine whether he had violated the department’s policies.
“I made a factual statement and quoted the accused employee, similarly to those who in this investigation quoted me. Neither of which violates policy,” Olsson later said in a statement.
While there wasn’t any evidence of Carlson or Olsson using derogatory language against anyone else, they were found to have violated the department’s rules for “Unsatisfactory Performance,” investigators said.
“At the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, we hold all personnel to the highest ethical standards, and that includes speech that is bigoted in nature,” Sheriff John Mina said. “In both cases, someone alerted their chain of command to the language that was used, and the incidents were thoroughly investigated. In both cases, the subjects were sustained for Unsatisfactory Performance, faced discipline and were moved out of the Professional Standards Division.”
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