Otero man's Confederate flag lands him in hot water

Go prosecute some drug dealers or someone molesting children. Go prosecute one of them. I've got cancer and my wife just had a stroke. I don't think I deserve six months in jail or a fine because I was showing some respect."

 l Scotty Brown wanted to do was honor his father-in-law's death by flying a Confederate flag next to the American flag on top of a 25-foot pole.


Brown said he used the Confederate flag because it's the state flag of Alabama where his father-in-law, Kenneth Grimes, was born.

The official state flag of Alabama is a crimson St. Andrew's cross on a white field, patterned after the Confederate Battle Flag, and adopted by the state in 1895, according to the web site 50states.com.

He said the Confederate flag was fastened on one smaller pole attached at the top of the 25-foot flag pole with the American flag fastened on another small pole separate from the Confederate flag.

"They weren't sewn together," Brown said. "When they (the family) sent it to me, they said raise it up for the state of Alabama. It was just up for him out of respect. No one came to me and told me to take it down. I would have taken it down if they would have asked me. It was just up for respect of my wife's step father's death."

Brown was ticketed by an Otero County Sheriff's Office deputy for petty misdemeanor improper use of official symbols on Jan. 31.

He could face a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail or a $500 fine or both.

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