April 06, 2016

Appeals court says Sunni Muslim trooper wrongly labeled terrorist should get cash

By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

A federal appeals court this week struck down a judge's decision to award only $1 in damages to a Sunni Muslim state trooper fired after a military liaison falsely labeled him a budding terrorist, calling the amount "wholly inadequate."

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ordered U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell to consider "a more appropriate damages award" for De'Ossie Dingus, a 10-year veteran of the Knoxville branch of the Tennessee Highway Patrol fired in 2010. The firing came after military liaison Maj. Kevin Taylor called Dingus a potential terrorist after a brief encounter in November 2009 in which Dingus complained about the airing of a video on the radicalization of children during a training class that was supposed to teach troopers how to recognize weapons of mass destruction.

Campbell deemed the state Department of Safety, the THP's umbrella organization, and its officials guilty of discriminating against Dingus because of his religion. But she turned aside attorney Arthur Knight III's bid for $300,000 in damages, primarily because Dingus did not seek counseling or other psychological treatment. Instead, she gave Dingus, who already had won a separate civil service hearing that netted him back pay and lost wages, $1 in a symbolic gesture.

Knight said Wednesday that Dingus, a military veteran, should not be denied damages simply because he has "a very strong constitution."

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