Deputy forced to resign days before retirement for wearing Afro wig, he says

Three days before a deputy in DeKalb County, Georgia was set to retire after 20 years with the Sheriff's Office, he was forced to resign because of an Afro wig he wore while directing traffic, he said.

Antonio Perryman told WSB-TV he was called late that night and forced to resign because he "disgraced the uniform." However, he said that's hypocritical, given who runs the Sheriff's Office.

"I just got numb, like, I disgraced the uniform?" Perryman questioned. "In my mind, I'm here saying that we got a sheriff running through Piedmont Park from the police like it's an episode of Cops."

He's referring to an incident in which Sheriff Jeffrey Mann was charged with indecency and obstruction in 2017 after video surfaced of him running from Atlanta police in the park, AJC.com previously reported.

He ended up pleading guilty to lesser charges, which led to his state law enforcement certification being revoked. He's still fighting that decision in appellate court.

Perryman said he wanted to do something a little different for his last few days, so he wore the wig as he directed traffic last week outside the county's courthouse, WSB-TV reported. He said bystanders took pictures and enjoyed it.

“You know, that made me feel a little joyous about that being my last week,” he said.

He told the news station he doesn’t expect to miss any pay because of his resignation, but his records won’t reflect that he retired.

The Sheriff's Office declined WSB-TV's request for comment due to it being a personnel issue.

"My plan was to finish with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office with 20 years of service, and I got robbed from that," Perryman said.

WSB-TV filed an open records request for Perryman's internal file.

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