A South Carolina police officer fired for wearing underwear bearing the Confederate flag will receive $55,000 as part of a settlement with the city of North Charleston, a city attorney announced Friday.
The South Carolinian Insurance Reserve Fund will give former Sgt. Shannon Dildine the money after Dildine filed a wrongful termination suit against the city of North Charleston and its police department, the Post and Courier reported.
Dildine posted a photo of himself wearing the boxers five days after mass shooter Dylann Roof opened fire on a black Charleston church.
Dildine deleted the photo the following day after one of his superiors at the police department noticed it, but the police chief decided to terminate his employment:
The fired North Charleston officer claimed he did not know Roof intended to use the Confederate flag to promote racism and “did not believe the Confederate flag was a symbol of hate,” according to the lawsuit. “Instead, he believed it symbolized opposition to bigger or intrusive government.”
Dildine, a white man, accused North Charleston of discriminating against him because of his race, claiming that the police department gave a black officer a pass for posing for a photo with Black Lives Matter protesters.
Despite the settlement, the North Charleston Police Department did not reinstate Dildine.
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