LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lake County jail inmate was photographed pumping gas for a sheriff's deputy at a Tavares gas station.
The picture was posted on a Lake County blog, which tends to oppose Lake County Sheriff's Office leaders and the department's decisions.
The Sheriff's Office claims the inmate was no risk to the community.
"Maybe it's the police officer actually wearing it just for fun," said Clermont resident Danielle Aubuchon.
"I'd think it's a joke maybe," said Groveland resident Tara Townsend.
But it's not. Someone snapped the picture at the Shell gas station recently and posted it online.
The inmate and deputy were headed to the substation in Clermont when they stopped off to get gas. The deputy claims she was just a few feet away as the inmate pumped the gas.
The anonymous photographer said the deputy wasn't in sight as the inmate filled up the car.
In a statement, Sheriff's Office spokesman John Herrell wrote "The inmate in the photograph is a minimal-security, non-violent offender who was approved to work outside the detention facility as part of the inmate work detail."
Herrell told WFTV policies weren't broken.
Still, the picture was unsettling to some.
"Being I have two children, also if I drove up to a gas station and there was an inmate next to me I'd probably be frightened," said Aubuchon.
"He's in a jail uniform so I really wouldn't be surprised. I'd be surprised but I wouldn't be scared," said Townsend.
Current Sheriff Gary Borders is up for re-election this month.
The Sheriff's Office said inmates like the one in the picture are allowed to do landscaping and cleaning.
That particular inmate was serving nine months on drug charges.