Late last month, Sergeant Shannon Dildine of the North Charleston police department was fired after a controversial photo of him wearing nothing except a pair of Confederate flag boxers surfaced from his Facebook. It is unclear when the photo was originally posted.
Over the past month, the Confederate flag has made waves throughout the country because of what it represents and, specifically, its ties to white supremacist Dylann Roof, the man responsible for the Charleston massacre. Roof was frequently photographed with the flag prior to the shooting. This prompted the flag’s removal from South Carolina’s Capitol after Gov. Nikki Haley called on the state’s lawmakers to take action. It also resulted in many major retailers including Walmart (one of Fair360, formerly DiversityInc’s Top 25 Noteworthy Companies) and Amazon removing the flag and any related products from their stores.
In light of these events, according to Police Chief Eddie Driggers in his termination letter to Dildine, the Confederate flag is not a symbol that should be associated with any member of the North Charleston police department:
