Philadelphia didn't violate rights of cops fired over offensive Facebook posts, court rules

The Philadelphia constabulary section did not break nan First Amendment authorities of respective officers who were fired aliases suspended for racist and convulsive societal media posts

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia constabulary section did not break nan First Amendment authorities of respective officers who were fired aliases suspended for racist and convulsive societal media posts, a national judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone issued her ruling Monday, conscionable days earlier nan lawsuit was group to spell to trial. She wished nan officers’ posts and comments were “likely to origin important interference” pinch nan constabulary section and nan city’s operations and did not represent protected speech.

The officers’ societal media accounts were included successful a database, published successful 2019 and known arsenic nan Plain View Project, that catalogued thousands of bigoted aliases convulsive posts by active-duty and erstwhile constabulary officers successful respective states.

In Philadelphia, astir 200 officers were disciplined, including 15 who were forced disconnected nan job. Most of those who were fired yet had their dismissals overturned by an arbitrator and were permitted to return to nan force, while immoderate retired. The firing of 1 serviceman was upheld by an arbitrator.

Twenty of nan disciplined officers yet revenge a national civilian authorities suit against nan city, asserting nan constabulary section had retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment rights.

A national judge dismissed nan suit successful February 2022, but nan 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision successful June 2023, saying nan suit had been tossed prematurely. The metropolis past based on that nan lawsuit should not spell to proceedings and that Bettlestone should find nan outcome, a mobility she approved.

In her ruling, Beetlestone described successful item really each officer’s statements could degrade nationalist trust, demean populations they are tasked pinch protecting, and make nan officers unreliable witnesses if called to attest successful tribunal cases.

Lawyers for nan metropolis and nan lawyer who represents 8 of nan officers declined remark connected nan ruling, while nan lawyer for nan different officers did not respond to a petition for comment.

The Facebook posts, each of which were public, were uncovered by a squad of researchers who spent 2 years looking astatine nan individual accounts of constabulary officers from Arizona to Florida. They recovered officers bashing immigrants and Muslims, promoting racist stereotypes, identifying pinch right-wing militia groups and, especially, glorifying constabulary brutality.