A federal appeals court in Boston yesterday upheld the administrative leave and four-day suspension a veteran Cambridge cop got for a 2021 Facebook post in which he called police-brutality victim George Floyd “a career criminal, a thief and druggie,” concluding the Cambridge Police Department’s need to maintain its “public trust” outweighed his First Amendment right to post his thoughts off duty on his personal Facebook page. Read more.
— Read on www.universalhub.com/2025/appeals-court-upholds-punishment-cambridge-cop-who-called-george-floyd
Tag: First Amendment
Covering Democracy: Protests, Police, and the Press
Here is an interesting report from a a website that I just learned about. The only issue I have with the issue of the press and riots and getting arrested is that everyone holding a smartphone thinks that they are the press and that can’t be the case. During tense and violent situations an person can’t yell “PRESS” and hold up their phone and not follow orders from the police and then wonder why they are arrested. Especially during violent and dangerous times when other persons from the real press know that safety wins out and they moved so the police can perform their job.
Otherwise checkout what the report has to say. There are 5 Chapters and all the links can be found on this webpage.
A report investigating a major threat to press freedom
In recent years, hundreds of journalists who have been covering peaceful protests, public demonstrations, and acts of civil unrest in the United States have been arrested, physically assaulted, or otherwise forcibly deterred from doing their work by law enforcement personnel. The frequency and intensity of these incidents are alarming, threatening press freedom and undermining fundamental rights at the heart of American democracy. See more HERE
California Lawmakers Approve District Attorney Recusal Law
WOW! This is interesting. Is this another move to push police in a corner? Another form of punishment of the police? To further erode the rights for police?
Why does it matter if a police organization supports a District Attorney in a political race and they win? Why is it that they then can’t investigate any police officer involved in a “bad” use of force or misconduct case?
How are campaign funds received from Defense Attorney organizations? What about endorsements by political committees? MUST the District Attorney recuse themselves when dealing with defense attorneys????? Which is always! What about being an endorsed the Democrat Committee and the person on trial in a registered DEMOCRAT voter? WHAT?! The District Attorney MUST obviously RECUSE.
How are monies received from large companies or associations where now the Distract Attorney has an employee or owner of the donating company or a member of the association in a case before them????
I know RECUSE!!!!
This law can’t be Just Against POLICE right? It can’t take away the 1st Amendment rights from the police to associate and take part in the political process RIGHT?
What the police associations should do is donate $1.00 to everyone’s campaign (Distract Attorney, State Attorney etc., Judges) so everyone has to recuse themselves.
The Article:
Looking to weed out conflict of interest, lawmakers approved legislation barring prosecutors who accept law enforcement campaign donations from trying officers for bad shootings and other cases of misconduct.
Read the article HERE
Black Lives Matter organizer sued by injured Baton Rouge cop asks Supreme Court to defend protest rights | Courts | theadvocate.com
Is there a difference between protest and riot? When does a protest become illegal? A rock thrown by protesters injuring anyone should make the protest illegal. At that moment must the protest end?
A civil rights group is urging the nation’s highest court to overturn a lower-court ruling that said a Black Lives Matter organizer has no First Amendment defense to a lawsuit
— Read on www.theadvocate.com/content/tncms/live/
Future of Policing 