Atlanta, black man, Antonio Perryman Dekalb deputy wearing afro wig forced to quit for ‘disgracing uniform’ during last week of 20 year career.
A sheriff’s deputy in Georgia who claims he was just having fun ahead of his upcoming retirement lost his job after wearing an oversize Afro wig, while directing traffic on his last week on the job.
Antonio Perryman, a former deputy for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, said he was trying to have a little fun last week by donning the wig just three days ahead of finishing his 20-year career with the police agency. But the action cost Perryman his job for allegedly ‘disgracing the uniform,’ he told WSB-TV.
‘I said, ‘Hey, you know, let me make some people happy, let me make some people’s day,’ Perryman told the media outlet. ‘You know, do a little something different.’
The prank prompted bystanders to laugh and pull out their phones to take pictures as Perryman directed traffic outside the DeKalb County Courthouse, where he had been ‘feeling a little joyous’ during his last week with the department, he said.
Hours later, though, one of Perryman’s supervisors called him to discuss the incident — with the deputy forced to resign, he said.
‘I was later informed by Chief [Melody] Maddox that her and the sheriff was totally upset over the Afro wig and told me that I disgraced the uniform,’ Perryman recalled. ‘When she told me that, it was like, I just got numb.’
Disgracing police uniform?
Perryman slammed claims he’d disgraced the police uniform by department brass as hypocritical given the charge of indecency and obstruction filed against Sheriff Jeffrey Mann in 2017 after he was caught on video exposing himself while running from Atlanta cops in a park. The senior police figure was allowed to keep his job.
‘Like I disgraced the uniform?’ Perryman, of Atlanta, continued. ‘And in my mind, I’m here saying that we got a sheriff running through Piedmont Park from the police like it’s an episode of ‘Cops.’’
Attempts to seek media comment from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office led to police the saying that it was a personnel matter.
Perryman, meanwhile, said he doesn’t expect to lose pay for wearing the wig (or will he?) but he’s upset that his records won’t indicate that he actually retired after an otherwise spotless two decades with the department.
