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Facebook posts leads to early departure from Seaside for former Turlock police chief
Rob Jackson
Rob Jackson

Former Turlock Police Chief Robert Jackson announced his retirement from his role as chief in Seaside after city officials grew concerned about some of his Facebook posts.

The decision to retire comes after Jackson was placed on paid administrative leave by the city on Sept. 15. The administrative leave came after a column was published in the Monterey County Weekly that claimed some of the content shared on Jackson’s Facebook page were circulating false and racist claims.

The column, “Squidfry: Troll Food,” called out Jackson for sharing a post from Southern Rebel’s Facebook page that came via americasfreedomfighters.com website. The post lists a string of “accomplishments” by Barack Obama and accuses him of hiding his birth records, marrying a man and smoking crack cocaine in the White House. In sharing the post on his Facebook page, Jackson wrote “Impressive!”

The Monterey County Weekly contacted Jackson regarding the Facebook post and reported he told them he was unfamiliar with Facebook’s privacy settings, stating “This is alarming to me. I didn’t realize it was that open to the public.”

On Sept. 15, Seaside’s City Manager Craig Malin sent an email to the members of the police department stating Jackson was being placed on administrative leave, according to the Monterey County Herald. The email did not state a reason for the administrative leave, but did say it was “non-disciplinary and non-punitive.”

On Monday, Jackson submitted a letter announcing his intention to retire from the police department within 30 days.

Jackson left the Turlock Police Department in August 2016 and began his position in Seaside in November 2016.