Do NYC Cops Have a First Amendment Right to Protest De Blasio?

Do New York City police officers have a First Amendment right to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio?

In a CBS interview Sunday, Police Commissioner William Bratton said it was very inappropriate for officers to turn their backs on the mayor at a funeral for one of two slain officers.

While theres no indication that any officer who participated in the symbolic rebuke of Mayor Bill de Blasio will face sanction, some commentators have suggested that the protesting officers should be punished.

The speech rights of public employees can often be a legal gray area. The situation involving the back-turning cops is no exception, say legal experts.

The answer is nobody knows, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh told Law Blog.

Mr. Volokh said he thinks the police officers were speaking as citizens not as part of their official duties about matters of public concern. Courts have said government employees have the right to speak freely as private citizens on matters of public concern, with some exceptions.

Courts also consider the potential of speech to disrupt government functions. Mr. Volokh said the value of the speech would have to be weighed against its disruptive potential.

Its potentially disruptive because it undermines the authority of management, he said.

Dennis R. Nolan, a retired labor law professor at the University of South Carolina, said he doesnt think its clear whether the police officers who turned their backs were speaking as citizens or acting in an official capacity. Organized activity by [uniformed] police officers mourning the deaths of their colleagues could look like it was work-connected, he said.

The Supreme Court has laid down broad guidelines for looking at the speech rights of public employees.

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Do NYC Cops Have a First Amendment Right to Protest De Blasio?