Story highlights Roswell Police Department fires officer for flying a Confederate flag at her home

She is suing the city and police department, saying the firing violated her right to free speech

(CNN) A former police sergeant, fired for flying a Confederate flag outside her Georgia home, is suing the police department.

And she's doing it with the help of a group with alleged ties to white supremacy.

Silvia Cotriss, a nearly 20-year veteran of the Roswell Police Department, was terminated over what the department called conduct unbecoming an officer: a confederate flag, raised above her front porch in the neighboring town of Woodstock.

But Cotriss' attorney, David Ates, says her dismissal was in direct violation of her constitutional right to free speech as a private citizen.

"She was displaying her pride in her Southern heritage and honoring her recently deceased husband," the lawsuit said. "The Confederate flag [is a] generally accepted symbol of Georgia heritage."

Read More