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Social media firestorm over off-duty deputy carrying a gun into a local business

Posted at 6:27 PM, Oct 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-08 18:41:57-04

Swings-N-Things has its weapons policy posted right on the front door. Weapons are not permitted.

"Most facilities, like us, don't allow guns at their facilities because of our clientele," said owner Tim Sorge.

Sunday evening, Sorge said, a man was getting out of a go-kart when a guest noticed he had a weapon in a holster under his shirt. That guest alerted a worker, a park manager then told the man guns are not allowed. 

The man identified himself as an off-duty deputy and thought he should be allowed to carry his gun, Sorge explained. Sorge said the officer was asked to put his gun in his car but the officer and his family decided to leave instead, they were given passes to come back another day.

"We respected him and we thought that was the end of it, but apparently it wasn't," said Sorge.

A short time later, the wife of the Lake County Sheriff's Deputy took to social media and posted on Facebook.  She wrote that her family was kicked out and the business does not support the law enforcement family. Sorge said that's just not true. He said he's been supporting police for as long as he's been in business and the family was not kicked out. 

"We do not mandate that they carry weapons off duty," said Chief Deputy Frank Leonbruno with the Lake County Sheriff's Department. "If a business asks us not to carry and we are not on duty, we would expect them to comply," said Leonbruno.

The deputy did comply, they left. Leonbruno said the deputy will not be held accountable for his wife writing about the incident on Facebook. 

The post has since been taken down. News 5 reached out to her but she has not responded back with a comment.