A North Carolina police chief has been suspended for telling cops where to obtain a COVID vaccine passport without actually getting the jab.

Police chief T.J. Smith, stationed in the town of Oakboro in the US state of North Carolina, has been placed on unpaid leave for a fortnight as well as a probation period of six months.

Town official Doug Burgess reportedly sent Chief Smith a letter to inform him of the decision to suspend and investigate him for committing “wilful acts that endanger the property of others and serving a conflicting interest”.

The police chief was told he will be placed on unpaid leave for two weeks and probation for a period of six months beginning 21st December. Smith has the right to appeal the decision.

According to local reports, Oakboro officials hired private investigators at Blue Chameleon Investigations to look into the allegations made against the police chief.

It was discovered that Smith allegedly told colleagues about a mobile vaccination clinic where they are handed a syringe and told to go into a bathroom to either self-administer the jab or dispose of it.

According to reports, it is also alleged that the police chief said the cops would receive a vaccination pass, as there was an arrangement in place with a pharmacist at the mobile vaccine centre.

Chief Smith reportedly told Blue Chameleon Investigations that he was “unfamiliar at the time with vaccine rules”.

The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy has also stated that it is looking into the claim of a clinic where patients are given a vaccine card without getting the jab.

Following his suspension, the police chief is quoted as saying: “Many have asked me for details regarding my involvement in recent allegations. To make a long story short, in retrospect, I made a mistake.

“A friend called me with some information about a mobile vaccination clinic. It was a busy morning like every other busy morning. After I got off the phone with that friend, I called two other officers (not in my department) and passed on information about what was described as a ‘self-vaccination’ clinic.

“Having the benefit of hindsight now, it is obvious the entire process sounds questionable. I didn’t post it on social media, and I didn’t really sit back and think hard on it at that moment. It was just one person sharing the word with another.”

“I’m not a doctor and not in the medical field. I don’t know much about the vaccine process or what’s involved. That’s what these clinics and such are for. Being in the military, I have taken many vaccinations without ever knowing what was in them or how they worked. I received my own Covid vaccines in the spring of this year from the VA hospital in Salisbury. I just try to help people where I can, and I passed on something that, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have.

“I’m owning that. It was a mistake, and I shared misinformation. That’s true. I wanted to say something about this before now, but with everything going on, it was best that I wait for the investigative process to conclude.”

Chief Smith added that he did not profit from passing on the information and did not do it “from a place of malice”.

The investigation continues.