Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith still hasn’t commented on the lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed a former male employee, but he found time on Thursday to publicly reprimand a Black deputy for comments she made on a TikTok video.
In case you’re wondering, yes, this was another instance of your sheriff letting himself get played on a public stage.
“Information concerning personnel matters cannot be shared with the public, however we wish to make it clear that you have been heard, and the situation will be addressed and corrective measures have been implemented,” Smith wrote on his office’s Facebook page, and reinforced in a press release to the local media that went out Thursday afternoon.
He didn’t name the deputy, but it’s public knowledge that he was referring to Shamica Spears, a patrol deputy who posted a 26-second video to TikTok on Saturday making light of a post on the popular local Spot-A-Cop Facebook page that spelled her name wrong.
“Tell me why, as much as I’m on Spot-a-Cop, right, these hoes are still f**king up my name? It was Shaniqua. Who’s that, because it’s not me,” Spears said in the video.
“Lady said my name and everything on the traffic stop. Like, bro, you mean Shamica? Shit, nice to meet you.”
She finished the quick video with a preen for the camera.
“The curls are popping, though,” she said.
I found the post to the Spot-A-Cop page that prompted the TikTok response – it was from a user named Kalan Bunch, and was timestamped 8:05 a.m. Saturday, May 10, informing the world that “Shaniqua is tearing it up by wilson high school entrance.”
Spears posted her video at 2:27 p.m. on Saturday, so, six hours later.
The initial response to the Spears video on social media, from a review of posts to her TikTok and to Spot-A-Cop, was largely praising Spears for the lighthearted approach.
I did get an email on Monday morning from a reader in Nelson County, Helen Pannell, linking to the video, and asking if there was “a story in the making.”
“I am confused that a person serving the public would be allow to post such things like this call people names and the doing a tic tock while driving,” Pannell wrote.
Later on Monday, the Augusta County Watch Facebook page posted a link to the TikTok video, with a lengthy screed blasting Spears attached.
“At the start of National Police Week, Deputy Spears posted a TikTok video while in uniform and on duty, in which she used profane language and referred to a civilian she had ticketed using a derogatory term. The video, still available online, has sparked concern among community members, prompting many to call the Sheriff’s Office and complain,” the page wrote.
More from that post:
“To clarify, the term ‘hoe’ is a deeply offensive slang term used to demean women, often implying promiscuity. While its use in popular culture, particularly in music, may sometimes be normalized, it remains highly inappropriate — especially in a professional, law enforcement context.
“At August County Watch, we believe law enforcement officers should uphold the highest standards of conduct, both on and off duty. Respect for officers is essential, but it must be mutual. As of now, the Sheriff’s Office has not publicly addressed the complaints regarding this incident, despite its visibility and the concerns raised.
“We hope for greater accountability moving forward and for all officers to represent the integrity and professionalism their positions require — especially during a week meant to honor their service.”
For context on who this Augusta County Watch group is, one of its principals is a retired law enforcement officer named Scott Cline, who in 2019 was tied to an effort to smear Smith with claims that the sheriff had been dishonest and uncooperative during a federal labor trafficking investigation.
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I came to personally know Scott Cline in 2023 when I took up the cause of trying to get access to the audio recording of a closed session of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors in which members of the BOS discussed the resignation of Steven Morelli, who had been facing sexual-harassment allegations from two county government employees before deciding to step down from his seat representing the South River District on the Board.
I took the county to court alleging that it was acting in violation of the state’s Freedom of Information Act by keeping the recording of the meeting under wraps, in a battle that would play out over a nine-month period of time, into early 2024.
Cline was in contact with me almost daily as the court battle dragged on, sharing with me rumors and scuttlebutt about alleged corruption in county government, with a particular, and to me disturbing, fixation on Smith and the sheriff’s office.
It was from Cline, for instance, that I first heard the name Dennis Reynolds, the now-former sheriff’s deputy who filed a $5.35 million lawsuit against Smith that made the news this week, in which Reynolds alleges “a disturbing pattern of constitutional and statutory violations including disability discrimination, retaliation, defamation, and sexual harassment.”
ICYMI
The suit gives us salacious details including the claim that the sheriff “sent numerous unprofessional and sexually suggestive messages” to Reynolds, including “comments about the size of Plaintiff’s genitalia, statements that he would ‘come cuddle’ Plaintiff, and offers for Plaintiff to stay at Defendant’s house in Churchville. Defendant repeatedly told Plaintiff he loved him and wanted him ‘close,’” the suit alleges.
Cline shared the bones of what would become that lawsuit with me over the course of several phone conversations two years ago.
Not commenting here on the merits of the suit, which will no doubt see its day in court months into the future, but I came to take what Cline had to offer me about corruption in county government and in the sheriff’s office with a grain of salt.
Against that backdrop, Shamica Spears is just collateral damage here; the Augusta County Watch effort to smear her is just the latest way to get at Donald Smith.
I don’t know that the sheriff fully understands that, if he understands it at all.
How you can tell: Smith threw his deputy under the bus, to appease literally a handful of people who disingenuously raised issue with the video.
“Several citizens have contacted the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office regarding a video posted on TikTok, and shared on multiple social media platforms. In the video, a deputy makes comments that are inconsistent with the standards we support and adhere to in this Office, and we are addressing this issue accordingly,” Smith posted on his office’s Facebook page, addressing the video.
More from that message:
“Corporal Spears is very apologetic for the language she used. Her intent was to add a bit of humor around the common mispronunciation of her name, not to offend or disrespect anyone.
“Corporal Spears takes her role in ensuring highway safety very seriously and is committed to serving our community with integrity and compassion. She has a good heart, and her comments were not meant to mock or belittle anyone.
“We acknowledge that, regardless of intent, words matter. We hear you, and we recognize the importance of maintaining trust with our community. We will do better and are committed to learning from this experience as we continue working to serve you with professionalism and respect.”
We also have this message that Spears posted in a follow-up TikTok, that comes across as a hostage video:
“What’s up, y’all. So, I just wanted to get on here to, you know, show some love to the ones that you know, showed love and support and appreciation of what I do, getting out here and, you know, just trying to slow traffic down. Y’all see me making traffic stops all the time. But that’s not all that I do. I’m the only female out here on patrol getting it. I do it all. I deal with the good, the bad and the ugly. So, in certain situations, when I can make light on something, then that’s what I do, just to make myself smile, keep smiling out here, as well as to make you guys smile and giggle a little bit.
“So, that’s what that video post was about. Just the mispronunciations and the misspelling of my name all the time on Spot-A-Cop, it wasn’t to offend anybody, and that’s another reason why I’m on here. I never want to offend anybody. I know what that feels like. I’ve been called out for my name, just for the color of my skin, in uniform, so I would never want to offend anybody by the language that I used at all. That’s not my intention, like I said. It was only just to, you know, make you guys laugh, and to keep myself laughing and humble out here.
“OK, so, if it came across as being unprofessional in any type of manner, I am a personable person, so it wasn’t intended for that at all. So, I apologize to the community, I apologize to anyone that I offended, and I apologize to the sheriff. I heard about some complaints, but not all of them. So, I just apologize, because that’s not what the video was even intended for at all.”
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Chris Graham
