Clay County detective under investigation for social media post after ICE detained workers
The Clay County Sheriff's Office is investigating a detective who potentially violated the agency's professional standards by posting a photo online in response to Friday's ICE raid in Liberty, when agents detained at least 12 workers from El Potro Mexican restaurant during lunch hours.
Detective Tom Butkovich was placed on immediate leave pending an ongoing investigation, according to Sarah Boyd, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office.
The detective allegedly posted a photo of President Donald Trump with the words 'Time to put the 'panic' back in Hispanic' in a Facebook comment.
'We strongly condemn any actions by our employees that have the potential to erode public trust in our agency,' Boyd said. 'We want to assure members of our Hispanic community that they will be treated fairly and with respect during any contact with the Clay County Sheriff's Office.'
The investigation will determine if Butkovich violated the office's conduct or social media policies or procedures. The investigation will also look into if the comment was actually posted by Butkovich or someone impersonating him.
In the wake of community concern following Friday's ICE enforcement in Liberty, Sheriff Will Akin has reached out to several local leaders in Kansas City's Hispanic community, including the vice-consul of Kansas City's Mexican consulate, Boyd said.
Boyd was unable to immediately verify Butkovich's other off-duty law enforcement roles.
Some details about exactly what happened when federal agents showed up to El Potro in Liberty on Friday are still unclear, and reporting is ongoing.
Neither the Clay County Sheriff's Office or the Liberty Police Department were involved in the federal enforcement.
Akin told The Star that he heard about the ICE operation at the restaurant on Friday through a family friend. He then decided to go and see for himself what was happening.
He said agents told him they were looking for a person charged with child sex crimes who was not a U.S. citizen, and that they were also conducting a 'worksite enforcement operation,' to ensure the business had the required legal documents for every employee.
Akin said agents detained the person accused of sex crimes and 12 other employees. He did not know the immigration status of the individuals detained.
A group of local immigration advocates and lawyers was not able to confirm that agents provided a search warrant or any documentation proving they were searching for a sex offender, according to Kansas City immigration attorney Michael Sharma-Crawford. He said agents also confiscated two boxes of employment papers from the restaurant.
'They say they got consent from an owner,' Sharma-Crawford said. 'But we're not sure if the consent was predicated on the fact that there was a sex offender there, or if that person really had the ability to give consent.'
The detained workers were placed in ICE custody, Sharma-Crawford said.
Until the restaurant operation Friday, Sharma-Crawford said recent stops by ICE agents around Kansas City have been 'targeted,' with agents seeking out specific people they allege committed sex crimes, Sharma-Crawford said.
He said he still has several key questions about the agents' behavior and the people detained on Friday.
'Who are they looking for?' Sharma-Crawford said. 'What gave them the authority to just round up 12 people, other than they were brown and working at a Mexican restaurant? That's not sufficient.'
The Star's Bob Cronkleton and Ilana Arougheti contributed to this story.
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