CHEROKEE COUNTY, Okla. — A man is using social media to deceive people into believing he's a current law enforcement officer, prompting Sheriff Jason Chennault to issue a public warning about the impersonation.
The situation began in October when a local political group contacted Chennault about threatening messages they received from someone they believed was one of his deputies.
"This started back in October. I got a call from one of our local political groups that they had gotten some threatening messages from a person that they believe is one of my deputies," Chennault said.
The messages came from a man named Bart Alsbrook, but Chennault quickly discovered Alsbrook was not employed by his department.
"They gave me the name and I looked into it and he is not one of our deputies. He was not then and he is not now," Chennault said.
Complaints have continued to pour in from multiple states, including a recent incident from Texas where someone felt threatened by Alsbrook.
"Over the weeks and over the months, I've gotten several more and then this weekend we got one from the state of Texas and a person had felt like he had been threatened with bodily harm by this person," Chennault said.
The confusion stems from Alsbrook's Facebook profile, which shows him in uniform next to a patrol vehicle and claims he's from Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
While Alsbrook hasn't directly claimed to be a Cherokee County deputy, Chennault says his online presence is misleading people.
"It's frustrating in the fact that it takes away from our credibility. We are out here to do a job and help out as much as we can and when people go around us and try to make it seem like they're doing our job to harm people, it's very frustrating," Chennault said.
Local resident Brianna Thompson says people in town are talking about the situation and has a message for Alsbrook.
"This is a small town and you will get found out very easily. If not from the sheriff and the county itself, our online sleuths here are absolutely amazing and we will find you out. I am part of that community so go ahead," Thompson said.
The sheriff's hands are tied for now, as the threats haven't risen to a criminal level yet.
However, he advises anyone who feels threatened to contact their local law enforcement agency immediately.
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