Tennessee sheriff ordered to pay atheists $41,000 after preaching on Facebook

The police chief has not admitted any wrongdoing

Mr Watson made no effort to hide his Christian faith (Channel 9 News)

Police chief Eric Watson made no bones about posting religious messages and greetings on the Facebook page of his Tennessee department.

“When I campaigned for the office of sheriff, and before that, the office of state representative, I never made any effort to hide or deny my strong, personal Christian faith,” he told a local reporter this spring.

But not everyone appreciated his comments. One anonymous resident, with the help of a national atheist organisaion, filed a lawsuit accusing Mr Watson of violating the US Constitution

A lawsuit claimed that police had breached the US Constitution

This week it was announced that as part of a settlement, officials in Bradley County will pay out $41,000 and Mr Watson will undertake not to post any such messages on the police’s new Facebook page. Mr Watson will, however, be allowed to maintain his own page, where he can post his personal views and opinions.

The lawsuit against the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office was brought with the help of American Atheists, a New Jersey-based organisation that fights for the rights of atheists.

“This settlement is a clear win for the plaintiffs, whose First Amendment rights to free speech and to be free of government establishment of religion were infringed upon,” said Amanda Knief, the group's National Legal and Public Policy Director.

“We are pleased the sheriff has agreed to do the right thing by no longer using this official government social media account to promote religion.”

She added: “What is unfortunate, is that it took a lawsuit and more than $40,000 in taxpayer money for the county and sheriff to put this common sense policy in place.”

preach3.png, by Andrew Buncombe (Facebook)

The controversy erupted earlier this year when Mr Watson posted a series of Easter messages on the department’s social media page in which he quoted the bible.

“Living today is best done with a lot of prayer,” he said in another message, while he also talked about his horror that old tyres had been dumped in a church parking lot and said that a “man of God” he knew had died recently.

At the time, Ms Knief asked the “sheriff refrain from making statements promoting Christianity in his capacity as sheriff.” She claimed that the 2010 US Census data showed at least 40 per cent of people in the county were non-religious “making them the single largest religious community after Evangelical Christians.”

As part of the settlement, the county will pay $15,000 in damages to American Atheists and the local plaintiff, who has not been identified. They will also pay $26,000 in lawyers fees. The money will come from the authority's insurance company and not Mr Watson’s own pocket.

However, neither the county or Mr Watson has admitted any wrongdoing. Nobody from the sheriff’s office was immediately available for comment, but in a statement issued on Mr Watson’s behalf he said it was the duty of the department to act without regard to anyone’s personal faith, ethnicity, or national origin.

“The case filed against Bradley County and I have been time consuming and reflect the inevitable clash between three clauses of the First Amendment,” he said. “I maintained my denial of responsibility for any violation of the rights of the plaintiffs.”

The anonymous resident who had been part of the lawsuit said: “I have always said that Constitutional rights are worth fighting for, and I am proud that when tested, I stood by that principle. It was not easy to stand up to the county sheriff and some people in my community who disagreed with me.”

In one of his recent posts on his own Facebook page, which dates from July 21, Mr Watson makes clear his support for Republican Donald Trump.

“Trump is doing great. I love the law and order plan and the support for our law enforcement officers,” he said. “I’ve never heard a Presidential Candidate mention so many positive things about Law Enforcement like I have tonight.”