BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho deputy who was placed on administrative leave after their TikTok mocking LeBron James went viral is returning to the line of duty this week.
Bellevue Marshal deputy Nate Silvester told KTVB's Shirah Matsuzawa that he will return to work on Thursday.
On April 27, the Bellevue Marshal's Office announced on Facebook that the department was "internally" dealing with Silvester, saying, "The statements made do NOT represent the Bellevue Marshal’s Office."
Silvester posted a TikTok mocking LeBron James after he tweeted, and later deleted, about the officer who fatally shot Ma'Kahia Bryant in Ohio.
In the video, Silvester asks to have the Los Angeles Lakers' star call him as he watches an imaginary Black man stab another imaginary Black man.
"So you don't care if a Black person kills another Black person, But you do care if a white cop kills a Black person, even if he's doing it to save the life of another Black person?" Silvester said in the TikTok. "I mean it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but then again you are really good at basketball so I guess I'll take your word for it."
Soon after his TikTok went viral, the Bellevue Marshal's Office said they were "aware of the extreme controversy."
"The statements made do NOT represent the Bellevue Marshal's Office. The Bellevue Marshal's Office always demands that our Deputies engage with our citizens in a friendly and professional manner," the office said.
On Wednesday, Silvester also told KTVB that he recently signed a book deal with Di Angelo Publications and that the working title of his book is "Never Off Duty."
He added that he will now donate a portion of the GoFundMe that was made in his name, which has now raised nearly $500,000, to the First Responders Children's Foundation and use another portion to create a scholarship fund for displaced police officers.
