SC cop fired for Facebook picture of his Confederate flag underwear

The picture below has apparently brought an end to Shannon Dildine’s 19-year career with the North Charleston Police Department. When it was discovered in recent days that Sgt. Dildine posted a picture of himself on Facebook posing in nothing but Confederate flag boxer shorts, Police Chief Eddie Driggers took immediate action. It was one of those do not pass Go, do not collect your $200 type of firings (though Dildine does have 10 days to appeal his termination).

According to Cleve O’Quinn of The Post and Courier, Chief Driggers wrote the following in the termination letter to Dildine:

On Tuesday … the City learned that you posted on Facebook a photograph in which you were wearing only a pair of boxer shorts emblazoned with the image of the Confederate flag. Your posting in this manner led to you being publicly identified as a North Charleston Police officer and associated both you and the Department with an image that symbolizes hate and oppression to a significant portion of the citizens we are sworn to serve.

It’s important to keep in mind the environment surrounding this letter. The North Charleston Police Department has already dealt this year with the arrest of one of its officers for the murder of an unarmed black man. Walter Scott was shot in the back as he ran from Officer Michael Slager. The video of that shooting brought many protests and much scrutiny of Chief Driggers and his department. In addition, as we all know, the Charleston community and our country are still grieving over the killing June 17 of nine people at a historic black church.

I am not posting this to take part in the debate about the Confederate flag or the state of policing. There are plenty places where you can do that. This is just another reminder that what you post off-duty on social media and on websites can and will take a big hunk out of your boxer shorts whether they are adorned with the Confederate flag or cute little fire trucks. And right now the scrutiny of your posts is likely to be higher than it ever was.

I’m sure those outraged by this firing will have all sorts of arguments in defense of Shannon Dildine, his choice of underwear and his right to post what he wants on his own Facebook page while not working. While some of those arguments will be based solely on emotion, others will be well thought out and may even be similar to arguments used by lawyers fighting to get jobs back for Dildine and people who have been similarly fired over Facebook posts.

But no matter how outraged you are, it’s probably smart to take a deep breath and think about whether this could happened to you. What is on your Facebook page that could lead to disciplinary action or your firing?

Now is a real good time to do a little inventory and weigh the impact your posts may have on your job. I have a feeling that Chief Driggers will soon be joined by a lot of other police chiefs (and maybe some fire chiefs) in dealing with a lot more complaints about what those in public safety are posting on Facebook. Remember you heard it here first.