NebrasKKKa Highway Patrol

Posted on August 25, 2006 by Tito

Nebraska wants to fire a Highway Patrolman because he’s a member of the KKK. Enter the lawyers.

Although it isn’t illegal to be a member of a KKK group, having a trooper belong to a white supremacist group could create questions in the minds of the public, as well as create dissention among other troopers, Tuma said.

According to the investigation, Henderson’s dealings with the group were done during off-duty hours and on his private computer.

“The department discharged (Henderson) because of his beliefs and because he sought out others who shared his beliefs,” the arbitrator said.

Caffera said Henderson’s firing flies in the face of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have concluded public employees are entitled to express political beliefs and associate with others who share their beliefs.

Bruning argued that the First Amendment does not apply in this case.

“The First Amendment allows you to join disgusting groups, but it does not allow him to be employed as a state trooper,” Bruning said. “We don’t give guns and badges in Nebraska to anyone tied to the KKK.”

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