Lebanon police chief demoted over ‘offensive’ social media post

LEBANON, Ind. (WISH) — The Lebanon chief of police has been removed from office and will serve the department in the patrol division after a comment he made on Facebook in 2017 resurfaced, the department said Friday via social media. 

Tyson Warmoth became chief of Lebanon Police Department in 2016 after 20 years at the department in a variety of roles. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, according to the Lebanon Police Department website. 

According to a statement from Warmoth on the department’s Facebook page, he “made a crude and offensive comment in jest” on his adult son’s personal Facebook page in February 2017, which was recently posted as an image on someone else’s personal Facebook page. 

The statement includes an apology from Warmoth to the people of Lebanon and the mayor and explains that he accepted the decision to be removed from office and “will continue to do my best to protect and serve as I return to the Patrol Division.”

Deputy Chief Brad Bailey will serve as interim police chief as the city considers candidates for chief, Mayor Matt Gentry said Friday.

Full statement from the department: