Charles Anderson, the now former officer for the Muskegon Police Department in Michigan, claims that the Confederate flags and framed KKK application in his home were there because of his interest in The Dukes of Hazzard television series, NBC News reports.
Anderson was fired on Sept. 13 following an investigation into the racist memorabilia found inside his Holton Township home by Robert Mathis, who is black, when he toured the residence with his wife Reyna, their two children, and a realtor in August. After debating whether they should post their photo of the framed KKK application, Mathis "prayed for a solution" before deciding to share the picture on Facebook with a lengthy statement explaining his predicament.
In early August, the Muskegon Police Department announced their investigation into Anderson after they were made aware of a photo which accused him of "being in possession of certain items associated with a white supremacy group."
Anderson claims that his interest in American historical memorabilia led him to purchase the 1920s KKK application from a vendor in Indiana. While he alleges that the Confederate items were part of an extensive Dukes of Hazard collection that he has spent decades accumulating.
The department discovered in their inquiry that two citizen complaints were made against Anderson in 2010 and 2016. The report also uncovered a number of encounters between Robert and Reyna Mathis and Anderson. The most notable being a 2008 incident in which the couple was pulled over for speeding, and after they allegedly refused to comply with Anderson’s commands, Reyna "struck him in the face and eye with her hand." She was charged with assaulting an officer, and sentenced to 60 days behind bars.
Reyna claims that her alleged assault actually stems from her acting in self-defense against Anderson, and when her lawyer asked for the footage taken by the police car's dashboard camera to be entered as evidence, the video couldn't be found. The couple argues that the department is trying to make it seem as though they are getting revenge on Anderson over something that occurred 11 years ago.
