Cambridge police detective sues over suspension for complaining about George Floyd and Democrats on his own Facebook page

Brian Hussey, a 24-year seasoned of the Cambridge Police Department, contiguous sued the metropolis and its erstwhile constabulary commissioner for the 2 months of administrative permission and 4 days of unpaid suspension helium got aft posting connected his backstage Facebook leafage that George Floyd was “a vocation criminal, a thief and druggie."

In his suit against the metropolis and Branville Bard, filed successful US District Court successful Boston, Hussey says his punishment violated his First Amendment rights to accidental what helium wants disconnected work arsenic a backstage citizen. He says his Facebook leafage does not place him arsenic a Cambridge serviceman and that helium was not connected the occupation erstwhile helium posted.

In his complaint, Hussey describes what happened:

On oregon astir February 25, 2021, Plaintiff work an nonfiction posted by Channel 7 WHDH with the header "House Democrats Reintroduce Police Reform Bill Named successful Honor of George Floyd."

Although Plaintiff supported constabulary reform, and believed powerfully that the individuals liable for Floyd’s decease should beryllium prosecuted criminally, helium was acrophobic arsenic a backstage national that an important enactment of Congress would beryllium named "in honor" of idiosyncratic who was reported to person a transgression record, included aggravated robbery during a location invasion, and past of cause abuse. Accordingly, portion off-duty, Plaintiff posted the pursuing remark on with the WHDH article; "This is what its travel to 'honoring' a vocation criminal, a thief and druggie . . . the aboriginal of this state is bleak astatine best." Plaintiff took the station down, arsenic was his mean practice, astir 2 hours aft it was posted. The station successful nary mode identified Plaintiff arsenic a constabulary officer.

Shortly thereafter, successful March 2021, Plaintiff was informed by suspect Bard that helium was being placed connected "administrative leave" due to the fact that of his station connected Facebook. Plaintiff remained connected administrative permission for astir 2 months. After that, Defendant Bard, connected behalf of the City of Cambridge, imposed a four-day suspension upon the plaintiff, which helium served.

Hussey is seeking a assemblage proceedings astatine which helium hopes to get a determination that helium was wronged, backmost wages and monetary damages.

Bard near his Cambridge occupation successful August for a presumption arsenic vice president of nationalist information astatine Johns Hopkins University successful Baltimore.

This is not the archetypal clip idiosyncratic astatine Cambridge Police has gotten into occupation implicit an online posting. In May, 2020, Supt. Jack Albert acknowledged utilizing the section Twitter account to telephone US Rep. Joe Kennedy "a wide fucking jerk" and his past Senate opponent, Ed Markey, "a clown."