Shaquille O’Neal’s association with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department was nixed today.

Sheriff Mike Brown said this afternoon that the NBA superstar’s likeness will no longer be used in conjunction with Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, a unit of the department that investigates Internet sexual predators.

Brown's decision came after O’Neal was asked Tuesday to return an honorary deputy’s badge to a sheriff's department in Arizona as the result of a recent O'Neal rap video. In the video, O'Neal, now with the Phoenix Suns, mocked his former Los Angeles Laker teammate Kobe Bryant. The video, posted at TMZ.com, includes offensive and racially derogatory language.

As a result of O’Neal’s behavior Brown said O’Neal will be expected to return an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force badge. ICAC is a division of the federal Department of Justice and the agency has been using public service announcements featuring O’Neal, Brown said.

“He is really devastated. He knows what he said was inappropriate,” Brown said.

Brown said this afternoon he had not spoken to O’Neal but the information was relayed through a mutual friend. Brown also said he had not viewed the video.

“I hope people will remember what he has done for this area,” Brown said.

O’Neal served as a reserve deputy for the sheriff’s department from 2004 through the end of 2007. Because a heavy load of other commitment O’Neal was not sworn in again when Brown began a new term at the beginning of this year.