So it is not a fire story… but the issues are all too familiar: Do public employees have any First Amendment Rights… and if so do they include the right to artistically express oneself?
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I would say he certainly has some First Amendment rights, but his use of "homophobic slurs" takes his work out of the protected arena, in my opinion, especially if he identifies himself as an Irvington Police Officer (in the video clip, it appears his badge and service weapon are displayed). I know if I were a gay or lesbian living in Irvington, and saw this performance by four self-identified Irvington officers, I would be very worried about their willingness to protect me (just as I would if they were professing that Christianity gave them the "right" to hate homosexuals, a la Westboro Baptist Church).
I suspect the black officers and citizens of Irvington would be up in arms — and rightfully so — if some white officers were to do a black-face video or one knocking the civil rights movement.
If you are going to be a public employee, you implicitly relinquish certain rights… the right to expouse racist, homophobic, pedophile, sexist, or ultra-violent theories.
If you want to support those causes, fine… but you can't do it on the taxpayer's money. Even off-duty.
I know I would be going after these guys if I could. Not only would I be worried about whether they would protect me, I would also be scared of being targeted by them. Gays and lesbians have a long history of being arested and harrased by police departments. It is certainly better these last 20 years but images of Stonewall pop into my head when I see things like this. I also have friends that have been afraid to report everyday crimes as a result of that history.
Amazing how much this jamoke looks like former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick…
Former mayor and thrice-convicted felon, that is.