September 29th, 2009 | by Jennifer Van Grove

In Bozeman, Montana misunderstanding social media may be a way of life, but in Calumet County, Wisconsin it’s proven to be the difference between a job in law enforcement and unemployment.

Last month Jennifer Bass, a Calumet County sheriff’s deputy, decided to literally burn off workplace steam in an unsettling way. She, along with friends, took to her backyard to burn a stuffed officer’s uniform, using sticky notes to identify fellow officers, in effigy.

She also filmed and photographed the burning in effigy, posting video and photos of the incident to her Facebook () profile (footage included below). Now that the video, which includes racial remarks regarding the KKK, has surfaced to an audience beyond just Facebook friends, she’s since resigned from her position.

County Sheriff, Jerry Page, is openly apologizing for the incident, which was brought to his attention by an undisclosed third-party source. Also feeling the heat is Wendy Schmitz, a Sherriff’s investigator that was seen in photos posted to Facebook from the incident. Even though she attributes the racist statements to her coworker, she has admitted to participating in the burning and has been demoted as a result.

It’s an unfortunate stain on the county’s reputation, which claims to use Facebook for assistance with their everyday investigations. More information on the incident, and actual footage, can be seen in this FOX 11 report.

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