Police officer fired for having confederate flag in yard

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

my god you just cant seem to understand that a constitutional right to free speech is not a constitutional right to government employment.

Again, and I'll put this in the most basic English I can for you to understand, the government cannot legally violate your rights. The First Amendment is a part of what we call the Bill of Rights. I learned that in elementary school. Maybe you weren't as fortunate. That amendment guarantees the right to free speech and expression which the government cannot legally prohibit. If a government employer terminates your employment for exercising that expression on your own private property that is a violation. I could explain to an eight year old and they could understand this better than you.

Actually, I'm not convinced you don't understand it; you're just so heavily biased and dishonest that you don't care.

let me ask this - should a police officer that makes racist, homophobic, and sexist remarks off duty on social media be allowed to remain employed?

That's a matter of one's opinion. In my opinion, no, because a I stated earlier those would be considered direct threats towards the public. Flying a flag in one's yard that millions of other people do constitutes no such thing.

Again, not hard to understand. It just takes firing brain cells and eliminating your personal prejudice from the equation.

you cant stay consistent

I've been consistent throughout the entire discussion.

(you invented the b.s. about 'threats')

Nope, I clearly stated that earlier.

they can't fly racist symbols.

What racist symbol was she flying?

 

[Brynmr]

You cant grasp that this has nothing to do with the 1rst amendment.

You can't even spell 1st Amendment.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

what if she has a nazi flag on her lawn..? or a burning cross?

Did she?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

well, let me rephrase that... you can say whatever you want. your employer doesn't have to tolerate it.... especially a police department (or other public agency) if what you say/do makes them look bad. just how it is..

I'd wager that even the jew ACLU will side with the cop's right to fly any flag she wants at her own house. ......

wont matter. If her department says she has to go she is gone. She doesnt have the right to force the PD to deal with fallout from her personal views.

Actually, she does. More than likely she belongs to a union (how ironic for you folks) and there will probably be a lot of arbitration and litigation as a result of this action.

she can't violate departmental rules.

What rule was broken?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

well, let me rephrase that... you can say whatever you want. your employer doesn't have to tolerate it.... especially a police department (or other public agency) if what you say/do makes them look bad. just how it is..

The Constitution is a constraint on the government, therefore, no, they cannot rightly fire her for her freedom of expression on her own property that isn't directly threatening.

again, you do not have the right to put your employer in a bad light.

freedom of expression does not allow you to do that.

you're welcome.

That is a matter of your own opinion that it puts her employer in a bad light. Everyone out there is offended by something. Where is the line drawn?

Again, the government cannot legally deprive a person of their Constitutional rights which is exactly what is happening here.

no. it is not *my* opinion. it is law.

"The government is not permitted to fire an employee based on the employee's speech if either the speech is on a matter of public concern, the speech is not said as part of that employee's job duties,[48] or the damage caused by the speech is not outweighed by the value of the speech to the employee and public.[49][50] Specifically, speech is "treated as a matter of public concern" by reference to the "content, form, and context of a given statement".[51] The exception with regards to balancing the harm of a statement and the value of the statement (the Pickering test) is done by considering the degree to which the speech either interferes with close working relationships, disrupts the office, or even has the potential to do either.[52]"

Garcetti v Caballos 547 U.S. 410 (2006)

Connick v. Myers, 461 US 138

Pickering v Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968).


for a start.....

Agreed. Since there is no valid public concern here there is no issue.

 

[Valerie]

public service jobs come with a duty to uphold certain public standards.

police officers first amendment rights are not violated by upholding standards of conduct.

ignoramus is free to go become a mall cop or something...





According to the report, investigators were made known of the flag when a passerby informed a local pastor that he noticed a police car was parked next to a Confederate flag outside of a home.

The pastor then told Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant during a community meeting, and Sgt. Silvia Cotriss was fired after an investigation.

During the investigation, Cotriss told investigators that she “didn’t see anything wrong with it” and “was unaware the flag had been adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.”

The flag is visible in a Google Earth search of the home’s address, which investigators confirmed.

Cotriss received a termination letter, which reasoned that she had been “engaging in conduct on or off duty, which has a tendency to destroy public respect for the employee, or the department, or destroys confidence.”

“I was shocked at her obliviousness regarding the confederate flag,” Pastor Lee Jenkins, of Eagles Nest Church, told WSBTV.

Jenkins, who alerted Roswell PD Chief Grant, is proud of the way the situation was handled.

 

[Asclepias]

Alabama man fired for refusing to remove Confederate flag from truck: ‘It’s just my right to have it’

"He has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union in hopes that the civil rights group would take up his case, but an employment attorney said Sims doesn’t have much of a claim."

 

[Asclepias]

Yes, you can be fired for social media posts, and you have no recourse

"Despite what you believe, freedom of speech does not shield you from consequences for things you post online. It's a common misconception, but like it or not, that Facebook post you thought was intelligent or funny could haunt you forever, and there's nothing you can do about it."

 

[Valerie]

what if she has a nazi flag on her lawn..? or a burning cross?

Did she?

if she did would you feel better about firing her and ignoring her supposed free speech right to do so?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

what if she has a nazi flag on her lawn..? or a burning cross?

Did she?

if she did would you feel better about firing her and ignoring her supposed free speech right to do so?

I can bring up hypothetical questions all day long that nobody can prove. What if she did this? What if she did that? What if she did the other thing, but that would be completely irrelevant to the topic at hand, now, wouldn't it?

 

[ogibillm]

my god you just cant seem to understand that a constitutional right to free speech is not a constitutional right to government employment.

Again, and I'll put this in the most basic English I can for you to understand, the government cannot legally violate your rights. The First Amendment is a part of what we call the Bill of Rights. I learned that in elementary school. Maybe you weren't as fortunate. That amendment guarantees the right to free speech and expression which the government cannot legally prohibit. If a government employer terminates your employment for exercising that expression on your own private property that is a violation. I could explain to an eight year old and they could understand this better than you.

Actually, I'm not convinced you don't understand it; you're just so heavily biased and dishonest that you don't care.

let me ask this - should a police officer that makes racist, homophobic, and sexist remarks off duty on social media be allowed to remain employed?

That's a matter of one's opinion. In my opinion, no, because a I stated earlier those would be considered direct threats towards the public. Flying a flag in one's yard that millions of other people do constitutes no such thing.

Again, not hard to understand. It just takes firing brain cells and eliminating your personal prejudice from the equation.

you cant stay consistent

I've been consistent throughout the entire discussion.

(you invented the b.s. about 'threats')

Nope, I clearly stated that earlier.

they can't fly racist symbols.

What racist symbol was she flying?

you cannot seriously be asking that

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Alabama man fired for refusing to remove Confederate flag from truck: ‘It’s just my right to have it’

"He has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union in hopes that the civil rights group would take up his case, but an employment attorney said Sims doesn’t have much of a claim."

What branch of the government does Turner Industries belong to?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

What racist symbol was she flying?

you cannot seriously be asking that

Are you going to answer the question or not?

 

[Asclepias]

Alabama man fired for refusing to remove Confederate flag from truck: ‘It’s just my right to have it’

"He has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union in hopes that the civil rights group would take up his case, but an employment attorney said Sims doesn’t have much of a claim."

What branch of the government does Turner Industries belong to?

Why does that matter? I thought it was a first amendment right? Are you confused?

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Yes, you can be fired for social media posts, and you have no recourse

"Despite what you believe, freedom of speech does not shield you from consequences for things you post online. It's a common misconception, but like it or not, that Facebook post you thought was intelligent or funny could haunt you forever, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I'm truly confused as to why you keep laughing at your own ignorance. Most people don't put it on display so proudly.

Did you miss the numerous times it was clearly stated that the Constitution is a restraint on the government? What do people's private employer have to do with any of this?

 

[Katzndogz]

If it was illegal to possess or display the Confederate flag the city would have a case. The officer will win his case.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Alabama man fired for refusing to remove Confederate flag from truck: ‘It’s just my right to have it’

"He has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union in hopes that the civil rights group would take up his case, but an employment attorney said Sims doesn’t have much of a claim."

What branch of the government does Turner Industries belong to?

Why does that matter? I thought it was a first amendment right? Are you confused?

Apparently, you're incredibly confused. The sad part is you don't even realize what a fool you're making of yourself. You actually seem to think appearing ignorant is funny. I guess that explains a lot.

 

[Valerie]

what if she has a nazi flag on her lawn..? or a burning cross?

Did she?

if she did would you feel better about firing her and ignoring her supposed free speech right to do so?

I can bring up hypothetical questions all day long that nobody can prove. What if she did this? What if she did that? What if she did the other thing, but that would be completely irrelevant to the topic at hand, now, wouldn't it?

yeeeah i'm the one who doesn't know how to formulate an argument.

 

[Asclepias]

Yes, you can be fired for social media posts, and you have no recourse

"Despite what you believe, freedom of speech does not shield you from consequences for things you post online. It's a common misconception, but like it or not, that Facebook post you thought was intelligent or funny could haunt you forever, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I'm truly confused as to why you keep laughing at your own ignorance. Most people don't put it on display so proudly.

Did you miss the numerous times it was clearly stated that the Constitution is a restraint on the government? What do people's private employer have to do with any of this?

Youre confused in general. Her 1rst amendment rights were never violated.

 

[Asclepias]

Alabama man fired for refusing to remove Confederate flag from truck: ‘It’s just my right to have it’

"He has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union in hopes that the civil rights group would take up his case, but an employment attorney said Sims doesn’t have much of a claim."

What branch of the government does Turner Industries belong to?

Why does that matter? I thought it was a first amendment right? Are you confused?

Apparently, you're incredibly confused. The sad part is you don't even realize what a fool you're making of yourself. You actually seem to think appearing ignorant is funny. I guess that explains a lot.

yeah. I'm the one making a fool out myself.