First Amendment

The Boston firefighter who posted a cartoon image of a muscular Black man carrying the severed head of a white man, has been terminated. Octavius Rowe, a 15 year veteran, was fired on April 30, 2018 following an investigation that began last October

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This past weekend, a local newspaper in California wrote about a nasty dispute between the mayor of the City of La Verne and the La Verne Firefighters, IAFF Local 3624, that has prompted two separate federal court lawsuits in recent months.

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An already complicated retaliation case involving the Cleveland Fire Department just took a turn for the more complicated when attorneys for the city moved to disqualify the law firm representing the firefighter who brought the suit. Former Battalion Chief Sean ...

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An Illinois firefighter who was elected to the city council and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor, is now suing the fire department, the fire chief and his opponent-mayor alleging he was discriminated against on account of his Mexican heritage, and retaliated against for his political efforts.

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A federal court in Tennessee has ruled against a former fire chief who claimed his termination last year violated his due process and 1st Amendment rights. Cocke County Fire Chief William Smallwood was fired last March by County Mayor Crystal Ottinge

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The Washington State Supreme Court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Spokane Valley fire captain who was terminated because he refused to stop emailing and posting religiously-themed posts over the fire department’s online system. The ruling reversed decisions that upheld the 2012 termination of Captain Jon Sprague from the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

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The Detroit firefighter who was fired last October because he brought a watermelon as a gift to African American firefighters at his new firehouse, has filed suit alleging reverse discrimination. Robert Pattison filed suit yesterday naming Fire Commissioner Eric Jones, Deputy Commissioner Charles Simms, and Chief of Training Alfie Green.

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A white captain with the Columbia Fire Department who was fired last year for posting that he would run over Black Lives Matter protesters on I126, is suing for race discrimination and violation of his free speech rights.

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The trial judge in the case of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran handed down her long-awaited ruling this week, and it was a split decision. Chief Cochran was terminated in 2014 after he published a religious-themed book in conjunction with his ministry that many considered to be offensive to the LGBT community.

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An Orlando firefighter was fired today for recording part of an EMS run involving an elected official. Firefighter Joshua Granada reportedly admitted to using his cellphone to audio record part of a medical run involving City Commissioner Regina Hill.

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A female firefighter employed by a volunteer fire company who was fired earlier this year over a Facebook post, has filed suit against the department and the firefighters’ union claiming her termination was retaliation, gender discrimination and a breach of the union’s duty of fair representation.

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Cincinnati is facing a lawsuit by one of its district chiefs who claims he was passed over for promotion twice and labeled a troublemaker because he reported possible wrongdoing by other chiefs. District Chief Raffel Prophett filed suit last week naming City Manager Harry Black individually and in his capacity as city manager.

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The US Supreme Court has denied the request of Howard County Battalion Chief Kevin Buker to consider an appeal of his termination in 2013. Chief Buker was fired following a series of Facebook posts that began over the gun-control debate

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Today’s burning question: Can I block someone from posting on our FD Facebook page, or at least hide the comments from public view, because they have been posting derogatory comments ? Answer: yes and no. Government cannot censor members of the public. Government censorship violates the 1st Amendment.

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