Social Michigan cop who had Confederate/KKK memorabilia in home is fired

[Andy Capp]

Come on @Lord Coke. This isn't just having some cool war memorabilia that happened to be from the losing side of the Civil War. He framed and hung a kkk application in his home. That's messed up and definitely calls into doubt his integrity when dealing with members of the African American community

This is beyond just a confederate flag. I wouldn't want a cop with isis stuff hung on his wall either.

Exactly. I will keep an eye out for all the people around here who think Muslims should not be allowed to hold elected office (especially President) to rush in here and tell Coke he's anti-American.

 

[jamel]

He didn't just have it in his "man cave", he had confederate flag placemats on his dining room table, along with the KKK stuff.
It's mind blowing that he'd leave it there for an open inspection. Makes you wonder about the motive.

That flag dont really bother me much.

Hell when I was stationed at Ft. Knox Kentucky, white soldiers had that shit hanging in the windows of their homes and barracks rooms like a damn curtain.

So I may not be the best judge on that particular portion as I have become numb to it and no longer see it as a red flag like I use to.

It's all that other shit that makes me side eye him.

 

[Ruprecht]

That flag dont really bother me much.

Hell when I was stationed at Ft. Knox Kentucky, white soldiers had that shit hanging in the windows of their homes and barracks rooms like a damn curtain.

So I may not be the best judge on that particular portion as I have become numb to it and no longer see it as a red flag like I use to.

Different in the US obviously, but over here it's just a generic symbol for rebellion. I wouldn't draw any conclusions from a couple of confederate flags in someone's garage, especially if they rode Harleys or had an interest in US muscle cars.
Having Confederate flag place mats is a bit weird. Even having Australian flag place mats would indicate an unusual level of nationalism here (not sure about the US, you seem to have more flags everywhere).
Having the KKK application framed and mounted on your bedroom wall changes the interpretation a fair bit though.
I assume it's weirder in Michigan than the deep south as well.

 

[Lord Coke]

Let me try this one out to get a pulse of the room. What if you are looking for a roommate and as is your legal right you decline to rent a room within your house to a Asian American because you are uncomfortable living with a Asian. Should the government be allowed to fire you from your government job because you are privately racist?

 

[floivanus]

Different in the US obviously, but over here it's just a generic symbol for rebellion. I wouldn't draw any conclusions from a couple of confederate flags in someone's garage, especially if they rode Harleys or had an interest in US muscle cars.
Having Confederate flag place mats is a bit weird. Even having Australian flag place mats would indicate an unusual level of nationalism here (not sure about the US, you seem to have more flags everywhere).
Having the KKK application framed and mounted on your bedroom wall changes the interpretation a fair bit though.
I assume it's weirder in Michigan than the deep south as well.

Honestly as a US citzen, most people I know that have the flag claim it to be a sign of rebellion, while people who are firmly against the flag say it is a symbol of white supremacy. YES I KNOW what/where the flag came from, but to the people who own it, that’s what it is.

Now, the application appears to be blank, and old. That just makes it appear to be a historic artifact to me. The only thing “off” to me is the placemats that’s odd, but IMHO not a cause for dismissal. Obviously the department thought otherwise

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

First of all how did they find it he had it in his home?

Second of all, play stupid games win stupid prizes.

 

[Ruprecht]

Honestly as a US citzen, most people I know that have the flag claim it to be a sign of rebellion, while people who are firmly against the flag say it is a symbol of white supremacy. YES I KNOW what/where the flag came from, but to the people who own it, that’s what it is.

Now, the application appears to be blank, and old. That just makes it appear to be a historic artifact to me. The only thing “off” to me is the placemats that’s odd, but IMHO not a cause for dismissal. Obviously the department thought otherwise

Even though the spokesman said the investigation didn't find anymore than the Facebook posts, I have my doubts.
Would they say, "yes, his fellow officers confirmed he's a racist shitbag so we fired him"?
Either that or they fired him anyway, because once he's been named and shamed on national news he's a liability.

 

[trac209]

He will be replaced by a diversity hire for maximum virtue signal. Watch out white womenz!

Didn’t this guy kill a woman in her pjs who called 911 for help?

 

[MMAisGod]

Let me try this one out to get a pulse of the room. What if you are looking for a roommate and as is your legal right you decline to rent a room within your house to a Asian American because you are uncomfortable living with a Asian. Should the government be allowed to fire you from your government job because you are privately racist?

The answer depends on which side has the power.

 

[panamaican]

If it came into his work at all I'd be fine with him being fired. But this is in his own house. Remember the government is the biggest employer in this country. If they are allowed to determine what political views are allowed well that is not a good thing. I personally would not think having an ISIS flag alone should be grounds to terminate a government employee as well.

Government has a dual role as an employer and the State. It has way to much power to be allowed to decide outside of the scope of employment what views its employees may hold because now it is going from its role as an employer to that of the state.

This is a loser case and you should know that.

The cop is meant to represent the State in law enforcement. And that means protecting and treating all citizens equally. The KKK is an organization that explicitly doesn't think that all citizens should be treated equally.

Applying for admission to the KKK is an application to join a group that does not treat citizens equally. And that puts him at odds with his responsibility to the State.

Having the application framed on his wall is not why he got fired. He got fired because the framed application is evidence that he does not intend to adhere to the oath required of him as a police officer.

A man cannot serve 2 masters.

 

[HereticBD]

Let me try this one out to get a pulse of the room. What if you are looking for a roommate and as is your legal right you decline to rent a room within your house to a Asian American because you are uncomfortable living with a Asian. Should the government be allowed to fire you from your government job because you are privately racist?

To be honest, it depends on the job. A police officer should have an extra level of scrutiny, since they are in a position to abuse their authority if they happen to hold certain beliefs.

You probably shouldn't be a KKK and Nazi fan, if you're a cop. Would you be comfortable with an Islamic police officer being an avid ISIS fan? I don't think you would be.

 

[Bloody Pulp]

Meanwhile, Ralph Northam is still governor

...or should I say "coon man."

I didn’t even know he was in Soundgarden.

 

[Ruprecht]

Let me try this one out to get a pulse of the room. What if you are looking for a roommate and as is your legal right you decline to rent a room within your house to a Asian American because you are uncomfortable living with a Asian. Should the government be allowed to fire you from your government job because you are privately racist?

That would 100 percent get you fired from many government jobs (especially any with a customer service role or degree of authority), as well as brought before the tribunal, here.
Although you'd have to actually say to them that was why you turned down their application.

 

[west42]

The appl8cation is blank and probably older than he is

This is a loser case and you should know that.

The cop is meant to represent the State in law enforcement. And that means protecting and treating all citizens equally. The KKK is an organization that explicitly doesn't think that all citizens should be treated equally.

Applying for admission to the KKK is an application to join a group that does not treat citizens equally. And that puts him at odds with his responsibility to the State.

Having the application framed on his wall is not why he got fired. He got fired because the framed application is evidence that he does not intend to adhere to the oath required of him as a police officer.

A man cannot serve 2 masters.

 

[oldshadow]

The question is was the application in his name or was it just a history item.

If in his name fire him. Or if he has a history of racist shit fire him.

If he collected civil war stuff and there is no evidence of him abusing his job he should get his job back.

Are all the departments going to search every cop home and fire the ones that have something that someone somewhere might find offensive.

Are you going to fire a cop that has this poster on his wall.

 

[Bloody Pulp]

I’d be wary of a having something as insignificant as a rebel flag and framed letters on a wall in your own house, not on public display, being enough to lose your job over.

But if that goes along with some observed racist behavior from the same guy I could see it being used, justifiably, as part of the reasoning for firing him.

As an aside, I did get a kick out of the article mentioning how he was cleared of killing an “unarmed black man” a couple decades ago and then later mentions how he got a metal plate in his head from the “unarmed” guy bashing his head in with a radio.

 

[Bloody Pulp]

The question is was the application in his name or was it just a history item.

If in his name fire him. Or if he has a history of racist shit fire him.

If he collected civil war stuff and there is no evidence of him abusing his job he should get his job back.

Are all the departments going to search every cop home and fire the ones that have something that someone somewhere might find offensive.

Are you going to fire a cop that has this poster on his wall.

Why would they fire someone for having a Morgan Freeman poster?

 

[west42]

No one seems to be seeing this, not singling you out or trying to be a dick. That said,-
it's an extremely old blank application.

The question is was the application in his name or was it just a history item.

If in his name fire him. Or if he has a history of racist shit fire him.

If he collected civil war stuff and there is no evidence of him abusing his job he should get his job back.

Are all the departments going to search every cop home and fire the ones that have something that someone somewhere might find offensive.

Are you going to fire a cop that has this poster on his wall.

 

[floivanus]

Even though the spokesman said the investigation didn't find anymore than the Facebook posts, I have my doubts.
Would they say, "yes, his fellow officers confirmed he's a racist shitbag so we fired him"?
Either that or they fired him anyway, because once he's been named and shamed on national news he's a liability.

The optics of the media coverage alone are likely enough for the department to justify firingof the officer

 

[Mr Holmes]

Im siding with the city on this one. I don't see much difference between this and an arab cop hanging a framed picture of Osama Bin Laden on his wall.