ACLU Sues Miss. Sheriff for Firing Gay Officer

A Mississippi corrections officer was fired for being gay--and the American Civil Liberties Union has brought suit on his behalf.

The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of Andre Cooley, a man who grew up in state care and decided that he would work to help youths in trouble. Cooley went to college, became a corrections officer working with juvenile offenders, and earned what the ACLU called "an exemplary record" of employment--until, that is, his employer discovered that he and another man were in a relationship.

"Andre's sexual orientation has no bearing on his ability to perform the job of a corrections officer," ACLU staff attorney Joshua Block said. "It is well established that a public employer cannot fire an employee based on irrational fears and prejudices against gay people," added Block.

"On June 14, while at home and off-duty, Cooley called 911 after his boyfriend became physically violent," an Oct. 18 ACLU press release says. "Among the officers who responded to the call was Chief of Corrections Charles Bolton, one of Cooley's supervisors. After Cooley's boyfriend told Bolton that he and Cooley were in a relationship, Bolton told Cooley not to return to work before speaking with his immediate supervisor. The next day, Staff Sergeant of Jail Operations Donnell Brannon informed Cooley that he was being permanently terminated. Cooley asked Brannon if he was being fired because he was gay, and Brannon responded, 'Yes.' "

The release continues, "Cooley has never received a written explanation for his firing. He has never been charged or disciplined in connection with the domestic violence precipitated by his former boyfriend the day before he was fired. The official police report of the incident identifies Cooley as the victim. After firing Cooley, the sheriff's department attempted to deny him unemployment benefits by alleging that Cooley had engaged in unspecified 'inappropriate conduct and behavior while off duty, unacceptable for an officer,' " the release adds. "But after a hearing, an administrative law judge concluded that the sheriff's department failed to show that Cooley committed misconduct of any kind."

According to the judge in the case, Lee Houston, "The claimant was discharged, but not due to misconduct. The employer has not provided substantial evidence that the claimant was involved in any sort of misconduct."

The release notes, "Cooley was raised in the foster care system from birth. He chose to be a corrections officer so he could serve as a mentor and positive role model for troubled teenagers. Cooley earned his bachelor's degree in administration of justice from the University of Southern Mississippi, and began working for the Forrest County Sheriff's Department in November 2009 where he was quickly promoted to senior corrections officer. At the time Cooley was hired, he was told that he had a better resume than any other person who had applied for the job."

"I loved my job, and I did it well," Cooley said. "It shouldn't matter whether I'm gay or straight." Added the fired gay officer, "Because I grew up in the foster care system, I know the types of problems faced by the kids in juvenile corrections. As a corrections officer I could give back by helping these kids turn their lives around and build a future for themselves."

News site the ClarionLedger.com reported on Oct. 19 that the suit also seeks punitive damages, as well as the creation of a non-discrimination policy, and reinstatement for the fired gay officer.

But Sheriff Billy McGee expressed no reservations about having terminated Cooley's employment, telling the media, "He got in a fight with his boyfriend, and the police were called to his house for a domestic disturbance. Those kinds of incidents don't speak well for people in law enforcement."

The suit alleges that Cooley's supervisor told Cooley that once he was cleared of domestic abuse accusations, he would be reinstated. When Cooley got a copy of the police report, he saw that no such charge against him had been brought. McGee admitted that Cooley was the victim of the assault, and that no charges had been filed against him in connection with the incident.

McGee indicated that the thought the suit would not succeed. "I certainly don't think the federal government should have the authority to determine what kind of character a person has to have to be representative of a law enforcement officer in Forrest County," McGee said.

Brannon, the suit says, told Cooley's colleagues that he had been fired because he had "turned out to be a faggot," the article reported.

According to Atwood, the suit is the first of its kind to be undertaken in Mississippi.

The case bears certain similarities to another officer's firing in another Southern state last summer. In Florida, Mike Verdugo had contested his firing, but lost because he had not disclosed the fact he had been in an adult film, the South Florida Gay News reported in an Aug. 12 article. The city of Hollywood, Florida, not only fired Verdugo, but sought to have him barred from working as a police officer elsewhere. However, State of Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, while upholding Verdugo's termination, refused to strip the fired officer of his state certification as a law enforcement officer.

Meantime, in San Francisco, an open lesbian was recently promoted to assistant chief of the office of administration for the SFPD. The Bay Area Reporter said in an Oct. 9 article that Denise Schmitt had become the department's highest-ranking openly gay officer in the history of the San Francisco police.

"What the LGBT community wants is what everybody wants," Schmitt noted, saying that citizens need to feel sure that "that their police department is going to deal with them fairly and protect them from the things that endanger them, and treat them with respect and dignity," guarantees that Schmitt said "pretty much what every community wants." Added the new assistant chief, "That's my goal, and I think any leader has to start setting the tone from within."