Miss. Corrections Officer Fired, "He Turned Out to Be a Faggot"

In what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind in Mississippi, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Andre Cooley, a former corrections officer with the Forrest County Sheriff's Department who was fired after supervisors discovered that he is gay. Cooley said one of his supervisors discovered he was gay when responding to a 911 call placed by Cooley in June after his boyfriend became violent.

The ACLU complaint:

" The official police report of the incident lists Mr. Cooley as the “victim” of the domestic violence. No charges or disciplinary proceedings have ever been filed against Mr. Cooley accusing him of domestic violence or any other misconduct. One of the officers who responded to the call was Defendant Charles Bolton, the Chief of Corrections. In response to Chief Bolton’s questions, Mr. Cooley’s boyfriend disclosed that he and Mr. Cooley were in an intimate relationship. Upon learning that Mr. Cooley was gay and in a same-sex relationship, Chief Bolton immediately told Mr. Cooley not to come back to work before reporting to his immediate supervisor. When he did report to his supervisor, Mr. Cooley was told he was suspended indefinitely. The next day, Defendant Donnell Brannon, Staff Sergeant of Jail Operations, informed Mr. Cooley that the Sheriff’s Department had terminated him because of 'the type of situation' in which Mr. Cooley had been involved. Mr. Cooley asked Staff Sergeant Brannon whether he was being fired because he is gay. After a brief pause, Staff Sergeant Brannon responded, 'Yes.' On information and belief, Staff Sergeant Brannon subsequently told Mr. Cooley’s co-workers that 'Cooley was fired because he turned out to be a faggot.'"

The Clarion-Ledger adds:

Cooley requests unspecified damages from the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Billy McGee, Chief of Corrections Charles Bolton and Staff Sgt. Donnell Brannon, a jail employee. The suit also requests punitive damages from the three, Cooley's reinstatement and the implementation of policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Sheriff McGee on Monday said he stood by the decision to fire Cooley. "He got in a fight with his boyfriend, and the police were called to his house for a domestic disturbance," McGee said. "Those kinds of incidents don't speak well for people in law enforcement." The sheriff confirmed that no charges had been filed against Cooley and would not comment on the issue of Cooley's sexual orientation, saying he would speak to that in court.

So does that mean Sheriff McGee would fire a straight male deputy if he "got in a fight with his girlfriend." Probably not ...

ACLU staff attorney Joshua Block says the lawsuit is the first of its kind the ACLU has filed in Mississippi. There are no federal or state laws protecting LGBT employees in the state, and Block says it's often difficult to find work in the same community once you are outed.

The Forrest County Sheriff's Department contested Cooleys application for unemployment benefits, claiming that he "displayed inappropriate conduct and behavior while off-duty, unacceptable for any officer." Cooley appealed and an administrative law judge reversed the decision on August 25. Thats  great news. 

Yet another reason why we need the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Watch the ACLU interview with Andre Cooley AFTER THE JUMP ...

Comments

[TheRevKev]

WOW.

We are everywhere and being called out and called up, strong and stronger!

I am excited about the ways that we are showing up in the world TODAY!

YAY and AMEN!

[Jim]

This is why so many people on the right consider the ACLS to be the enemy.

They would love to do to the ACLS what they did to ACORN.

[FREELEO]

Bless him...

[CC]

"...911 call placed by Cooley in June after his boyfriend became violent."

He was the victim, not the aggressor, so grounds for termination were not warranted in any circumstances!! Sue them into oblivion and fire the homophobes!!!

[FREELEO]

The more I think about this the madder I get at the boyfriend. Domestic violence is a very real thing in our community. Like we don't have enough stuff going on.