Philadelphia didn’t violate rights of cops fired over offensive Facebook posts, court rules Boston 25 News [Video]

PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — 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, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone issued her ruling Monday, just days before the case was set to go to trial. She determined 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 included in a database, published in 2019 and known as the Plain View Project, 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, including 15 who were forced off the job. Most of those who were fired ultimately had their dismissals overturned by an arbitrator and were permitted to return to the force, while some retired. The firing of one officer was upheld …