A veteran sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department is suing the department and its chief for allegedly violating his right to free speech by disciplining him for off-duty social media posts concerning the “glorification'' of gang violence in songs by the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, and other issues.
Sgt. Joel Sydanmaa, a 24-year-LAPD veteran, contends he was wrongly disciplined for “misconduct'' consisting of expressing his opinions, as a private citizen, while off-duty, on his personal social media accounts, about matters of public concern, according to the suit filed late Monday alleging retaliation for exercise of First Amendment rights.