WBTV reported that a police chief in North Carolina was placed on leave after he told his officers about a self-vaccine clinic where they could get vaccine if they didn't take it.
Smith received a letter from the town administrator that said the advice was against the policy.
WBTV reported that Oakboro Police Chief TJ Smith was placed on a two-week paid leave on December 21.
According to the letter obtained by WBTV, Smith was told that further violation could result in his dismissal.
Neither Smith nor Burgess responded to Insider's email request for comment at the time of publication.
Smith said in a statement that he made a mistake. He said he got a call from a friend about a self-vaccine clinic and called two other officers.
I made two calls after getting one call. I didn't just digest the information, I gave it a lot of thought. He said he passed it on.
Smith had received his COVID-19 shots in the spring, but he wasn't very knowledgeable about vaccines.
I'm owning that. Smith said in the statement that it was a mistake and he shared misinformation. That's true. I wanted to speak about this before now, but I decided to wait for the investigative process to finish.
Smith said that he tries to help people where he can, but that he should have stopped. I shared something that wasn't true. I didn't make any money from it. I didn't do it from a place of malice, and I couldn't possibly profit from it. I have a job that allows me to serve others and help my community, and I appreciate that.
COVID-19 has been the leading cause of death for police officers since the beginning of the Pandemic.
