Controversy over the firing of a Madison County Sheriff’s Office deputy following a confrontation on camera at the Madison County Courthouse boiled into public view at the county’s board of commissioner meeting Feb. 11. In addition to highlighting conflict within Madison County’s law enforcement community, the incident and its aftermath raises questions of training and communication with individuals looking to film and photograph on public property.

A video posted Jan. 30 to YouTube shows an individual attempting to walk through security at the Madison County Courthouse with a camera on his head. Jim Cruzan, a now former Madison County Sheriff’s Office deputy, stops the man and asks him to take off his recording equipment.

Mark Cody, the clerk of Superior Court of Madison County, then ushered Geer outside the courthouse to inform him of rules around videotaping. As Cody and Geer stand just outside the main entrance to the courthouse, Cruzan, who frequently chews tobacco, spits in the direction of Geer’s feet.

Geer is ultimately allowed inside the courthouse with his recording equipment. He walks the first floor hallway for less than two minutes before leaving the courthouse.

Cruzan, a 12-year Navy vet, had been with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office for four years. His career in law enforcement dates back decades, includes time with the N.C. Highway Patrol, two terms as sheriff in Jackson County and time as a military police officer with the N.C. National Guard.