When nine people were killed in a hate crime shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, the Confederate flag came under scrutiny. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said it's time to move the flag, and companies from Amazon and Etsy to eBay and Walmart banned sales of merchandise bearing the flag.
So it may not have been the smartest move for Shannon Dildine, a police officer in North Charleston, to upload a picture of himself posing proudly in Confederate flag boxers on Facebook.
It's unclear when the photo was posted, but the city learned of the photograph on Tuesday. Police Chief Eddie Driggers sent Dildine a letter explaining why he was being let go on Wednesday, The Post and Courier reported.
"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," the letter read.
Dildine had served on the police force since 1996. He has 10 days to appeal the firing.