Law enforcement officers can be disciplined for speaking their minds. Here's a primer on how the First Amendment covers and doesn't cover you on the job.
As a law enforcement officer, what can you say without negatively affecting yourself and your agency?
A man charged with and acquitted of a felony for creating a Facebook page that parodied a suburban Cleveland police department is suing the city, saying it violated his right to free speech
When the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, they didn't exclude law enforcement officers from the right to free speech. So we do not have to remain silent while the fringe voices a cacophony of anti-police rhetoric.
Cops are being punished for activities that they participated in while off duty and while not identifying themselves as officers. So one has to ask the questions: What is an officer permitted to do off duty? Where are the red lines? And at what point do officers lose their First Amendment rights?
You must act with considerable discipline and restraint when loudmouths try to demean and upset you with offensive language and gestures.