Philly cops fired over offensive Facebook posts can pursue First Amendment claim, court rules

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press

A dozen Philadelphia police officers who were fired or suspended for racist and violent social media posts can pursue a lawsuit against the city claiming their First Amendment rights were violated. That’s according to a federal appeals court. The officers’ social media accounts were included in a database that catalogued thousands of bigoted or violent posts by active-duty and former police officers in several states. The officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Philadelphia, claiming the police department retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment rights. A Philadelphia-based appeals court on Thursday overturned a lower court’s decision to dismiss the suit.