I guess a simple way of looking at this is, if you belong to a "subversive group" that is centered on discrimination based on minority status then you don't belong in a job to serve and protect the public. That aside, I do wonder how this incident will be interpreted in regards to the First Amendment and freedom of speech. An interesting conundrum.
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Fruitland Park police Chief Terry Isaacs said his department has been shaken by troubling but unproven allegations that a deputy chief and a former police corporal were associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
The allegations, contained in a confidential FBI report provided to Isaacs by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, led to the sudden resignation of Deputy Chief David Borst and Isaacs' decision Friday to dismiss Officer George Hunnewell.
Isaacs would not confirm that the report linked the two officers to the KKK, instead describing the group as a "subversive organization." He said he couldn't be more exact in his description because he thought he was not authorized to release details of the report. Issacs said the document was given to him as chief to consider how the allegations might affect the officers' credibility and the perception of the department in the community.
Chief Deputy State Attorney Ric Ridgway, from whom Isaacs sought advice, identified the KKK as the hate group.
"It's not a crime to be a member of the KKK, even if you are the deputy chief. It's not a crime to be stupid," Ridgway said, in a previous interview. "It's not a crime to hate people. It may be despicable, it may be immoral, but it's not a crime."
Fruitland Park police shaken by KKK charges - Orlando Sentinel
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