Officer claims Greenwood PD chief violated free speech in federal lawsuit

The chief of the Greenwood Police Department is facing a federal lawsuit filed by an officer, who is currently suspended from the department.

The suit filed by Sam Bowen, a patrol officer with the department since 2020, accuses Chief James Ison of violating the officer’s First Amendment right to free speech. It was filed in June in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana with the City of Greenwood listed as a co-defendant.

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"The big thing for me was I was upset with how things were transpiring throughout the police department," Bowen said. "I wanted to stand up for public transparency, officer morale, and point out what I thought was wrong. As the lawsuit states, Chief Ison took retaliatory measures against me for posting as a private citizen on my own Facebook on my own time."

IndyStar reached out to Ison and attorneys representing the city Tuesday afternoon but did not receive a response to allegations in Bowen's lawsuit.

Bowen alleges the issues began in May when he voiced opinions online around the time of Indiana’s 2023 primary election.

In two different Greenwood community Facebook groups, the officer discussed what he perceived as a lack of transparency from the police department in reporting crime and attempts by incumbent Mayor Mark Myers and the police chief to downplay the amount of violent crime in the city, according to the lawsuit.

During these exchanges on Facebook, Bowen did not identify himself as an officer or appear in uniform and he is not identified as an officer on his Facebook account, the lawsuit reads.

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On the day of the primary election, Ison gave Bowen a letter informing him that his privilege to work in an off-duty law enforcement capacity was revoked. At that time, Bowen was operating a private security service when off from the department, the lawsuit reads.

Ison also informed the officer he would no longer be allowed to take his assigned police vehicle home at night or use the vehicle for personal transportation. Another officer was subjected to the same actions, and both were informed it was due to their criticism of the police chief and mayor on Facebook, the lawsuit reads.

“Bowen's right to speak, as a private citizen, on matters of public concern, is guaranteed by the First Amendment,” the lawsuit reads.

Ison retaliated against Bowen for engaging in protected speech, the officer’s attorney argues in the filing.

In an amended complaint, Bowen claims the city’s legal staff obtained and transferred a copy of all of Bowen’s instant messages shortly after he filed the lawsuit in June. The suit did not indicate what type of messages were transferred or whether the phone was city-owned.

On Aug. 2, the police department interviewed Bowen and several other officers about their use of instant messaging. One week later, Ison recommended Bowen and four other offers be terminated, allegedly based on the language in the messages, according to the lawsuit.

Bowen said the department's investigation into the instant messages resulted in a five-day suspension for one officer and three others resigning from the department. Bowen and one other officer are still suspended by the department in connection with its investigation, Bowen said.

Attorneys for Bowen and the defendants in the lawsuit have both filed motions demanding a jury trial. A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for at 2 p.m. Sept. 13 in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Tim Baker.

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Officer claims Greenwood PD chief violated free speech in lawsuit