ACLU Fighting for Gay Officer

The American Civil Liberties Union has taken the case of Andrew Cooley, a Mississippi corrections officer for juvenile detainees who says he was fired for being gay.

Cooley, with the help of the ACLU, filed a lawsuit against the Forrest County Sheriff's Department and his superior officers for firing him upon learning he is gay.

On June 14, Cooley called 911 after, he says, his boyfriend got violent. "Among the officers who responded to the call was Chief of Corrections Charles Bolton, one of Cooley's supervisors," according to a press release from the ACLU. "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 Cooley was informed that he was being fired and when he asked if it was because he was gay, he was allegedly told "yes."

Cooley was never charged or disciplined in connection with the incident involving his boyfriend, and the official police report lists Cooley as the victim.

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