A federal judge has ruled that the Philadelphia police department did not violate the First Amendment rights of several officers who were fired or suspended for racist and violent social media posts. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone issued her ruling just days before the case was set to go to trial. She determined that the officers’ posts and comments were likely to cause significant interference with the police department and the city’s operations and did not constitute protected speech.
The officers’ social media accounts were part of the Plain View Project, a database published in 2019 that catalogued thousands of bigoted or violent posts by active-duty and former police officers in several states. In Philadelphia, nearly 200 officers were disciplined, with 15 forced off the job. Most of those who were fired had their dismissals overturned by an arbitrator and were allowed to return to the force, while some retired. The firing of one officer was upheld by an arbitrator.
Twenty of the disciplined officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, alleging retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights. The lawsuit was initially dismissed in February 2022, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in June 2023, leading to the recent ruling by Judge Beetlestone.
In her ruling, Beetlestone highlighted how the officers’ statements could erode public trust, disparage the populations they are supposed to protect, and undermine their credibility as witnesses in court cases. The Facebook posts, all of which were public, were uncovered by researchers who spent two years examining the personal accounts of police officers from various states, revealing instances of bashing immigrants and Muslims, promoting racist stereotypes, aligning with right-wing militia groups, and glorifying police brutality.
