Fired Philadelphia cop faced hostile workplace after he supported BLM, lawsuit says
A fired Philadelphia cop has sued the city, alleging that he faced a hostile workplace after he supported Black Lives Matter activists.
Bryan Turner, who is Black, was stonewalled when he attempted to get police leadership to look into his allegations of workplace mistreatment, which included another officer writing that he hoped Turner got “caught in crossfire,” the lawsuit said.
After speaking up for BLM and out against the local police union president in 2017, Turner was suspended and arrested on charges of attempted theft by deception, obstructing justice, unsworn falsifying and official oppression, according to the court filing. He was later terminated.
In June, Turner was cleared of the charges. The 31-year-old is hoping to get his job back, said Melissa Freeman, his lawyer.
The suit, filed Monday in the District Court of the U.S. for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, accused the Philadelphia police department of abridging Turner’s freedom of speech rights and violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The Philadelphia mayor’s office declined to comment. The Philadelphia Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2019, the police force said it was firing 13 cops after probing racist social media posts published by officers.
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