SC Town Fired Police Chief: Crystal Moore Fired For Being Gay, Town Supports Her

A South Carolina town is standing behind their fired police chief. According to The SpreadIt, Crystal Moore was fired from the police station for being gay. The report states that Moore was fired by the town’s mayor because of her “questionable” lifestyle. The town quickly stood behind Moore, who had been with the department for the past 20 years.

Mayor Earl Bullard was responsible for firing Moore. Bullard was elected into office just three months before he made the controversial decision. In an audio clip that was leaked, Bullard can be heard saying that “he would prefer to work with a drunk person than someone with a questionable lifestyle.” He also says that being homosexual “is just not right.” The mayor, however, denies that he fired Moore because she is gay.

The S.C. town’s fired police chief is getting support from residents in Latta. The small, conservative town has rallied behind Moore, according to Onlineathens.com. Bullard has received a ton of hate mail since the story went public. Everyone seems to be getting involved and trying to make things right — it’s clear that Moore is well-respected and appreciated in the small community.

Town Councilman Jarett Taylor said:

“Crystal is a good chief and she loves this town. It made me proud of my town to see everybody come out for her the way they did.”

Resident Dottie Walters recalled a time when Moore went out of her way for the town:

“That’s Crystal. All she does is help people. I don’t get why he fired her. Maybe it’s the ignorant people who talk the loudest. She was the same great Crystal yesterday as she is today, and she’ll be the same person tomorrow.”

The S.C. town’s fired police chief isn’t sitting home, crying in a dark room, either. In fact, Crystal Moore is already back to work. Even still, she has used this incident to become an activist. She goes out and talks to gay groups about discrimination in the work place. She hopes that someday there will be laws in place that will stop discrimination against homosexuals.

Moore was off the department for two months — she went to court and was granted pay for those two months because state unemployment officials believed that she was “fired without cause.” The legal proceedings, however, left Moore with hefty legal bills; $20,000 worth, to be exact. People, virtually strangers, have donated about $8,000 to help Moore and the town is planning a fundraiser to help Moore pay off the rest of the money.

In a somewhat related story by The Inquisitr, an officer who refused to work a detail at a gay parade in Salt Lake City was suspended from his department. There was a lot of debate about whether or not the officer should have been suspended. Many people thought the officer had a right to refuse to work the parade while others thought his suspension was completely justified.

[Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Collins via TheEagle.com]