(CN) - A Nebraska state trooper was properly denied reinstatement to his job due to his membership in a Ku Klux Klan-affiliated organization, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled.
Veteran trooper Robert Henderson joined the Klan in 2004, one year after his wife left him for a Hispanic man. A State Patrol investigation revealed his membership in the KKK-affiliated Knights Party.
Henderson was fired, and the State Law Enforcement Bargaining Council filed a grievance. An arbitrator ruled that the firing violated the collective bargaining agreement.
The state patrol took the matter to district court, which vacated the arbitrator's decision.
Justice Gerrard wrote that Henderson was rightfully fired because of concerns regarding racial profiling.
"The most direct expression of the importance that citizens perceive law enforcement to be free of discrimination is Nebraska's racing profiling act," Gerrard wrote.
"To reinstate Henderson as a sworn officer of the Nebraska State Patrol," Gerrard added, "would violate this state's explicit, well-defined dominant public policy (promoting equality and tolerance)."
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