OCEAN CITY, Md.- Ocean City's Council President Matt James on Tuesday called for Councilman Mark Paddack to take a leave of absence while an investigation is conducted into whether he sent a racist social media message or was hacked.
The investigation was initiated by Paddack himself after a man named Bob Hammond claims he received a Facebook message in his inbox regarding his son's backward-facing ball cap.
The message reads: "Tell the dude to turn his hat back where the white designed the hat to be worn. Where I come from that is a punk. Immature POS."
At Tuesday's meeting Paddack refused to take the voluntary leave, even after pleas from other council members.
"The investigation shouldn't take long. There are ways to prove how that got there, so just consider that. Maybe don't make a decision right now, but for the good of the community maybe it might make the most sense," Councilman John Gehrig said to Paddack Tuesday.
The Worcester County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation after getting the report from Paddack that he was hacked.
Below is the meeting footage, the council president's statement and the social media video Hammond says the account was responding to:
