A South Carolinian police officer fired after wearing Confederate underwear will receive a $55,000 settlement, according to a Friday announcement.
The South Carolinian Insurance Reserve Fund will pay former Sgt. Shannon Dildine the amount after Dildine filed a wrongful termination claim against both the city of North Charleston, as well as its police department, reported The Post and Courier.
Dildine posted a picture of himself in Confederate flag underwear five days after Dylann Roof’s June 2015 massacre at a black Charleston church. While he deleted it the next day after a superior at his police department mentioned it, North Charleston deemed the photo incendiary and indicative of a lack of judgment.
The fired officer alleged that he did not know Roof had used the Confederate flag to demonstrate 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 accused North Charleston of discriminating against him for being white, citing a black officer who did not receive discipline for appearing in a photo with Black Lives Matter protesters.
While Dildine received this $55,000 settlement, the North Charleston police department declined to reinstate him.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the police department for comment, but received none in time for press.
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