Cop Who Tried To Run Over Protestor Faces First Amendment Lawsuit

From what the evidence shows, PolicyCop Who Tried To Run Over testor Faces First Amendment LawsuitByNick Sibilla, Senior Contributor

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To vindicate his right to film police officers, Phil Rishel has partnered with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and sued the officers in federal court last week. “The retaliation over my speech confirms that there is a huge issue with the culture of the Allentown Police Department,” Phil said in a press release

Furthermore, “These officers have a disdain for the rights of the people they’re sworn to tect — and I hope my lawsuit changes things for the better. ” Phil Rishel has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against police officers in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Noticing Phil, Officer Dean Flyte pointed towards a “No Trespassing” sign, before heading back inside

Nevertheless, “Yeah, that’s a nice sign, in light of current trends

Too bad it doesn’t apply to the public sidewalk,” Phil quipped

Moments later, Flyte reappeared, this time in his police cruiser, and tried to exit the garage, considering recent developments

But the officer botched the turn and instead hit the garage’s sidewall

Phil laughed and mocked Flyte for his driving

Undeterred, Flyte activated his lights and siren and started to slowly drive down the sidewalk towards Phil

He found cover behind a concrete planter on the sidewalk (which is quite significant)

Flyte left the car and once again went back inside the garage, before re-emerging with a supervisor, Sgt

Christopher Stephenson, in today's market environment

Stephenson ordered Phil and threatened to arrest him if he walked down a public sidewalk

So Phil decided to leave for the day

Furthermore, MORE FOR YOU The very next day, Phil returned to the same police parking garage to continue filming outside

This time, according to FIRE’s lawsuit, Sgt

Joseph Iannetta “berated and tried to intimidate” Phil and outright told him, “You need to be institutionalized (this bears monitoring). ” Soon after Phil’s interaction with Iannetta, Sgt

However, Stephenson appeared and threatened to cite Phil because he was filming police officers (fascinating analysis), in light of current trends

The court did find Phil was guilty of loitering, but even this charge was later overturned on appeal

However, Prior to filing his lawsuit with FIRE, Phil d his footage documenting his experience with the Allentown officers with Lackluster Media

What happened to Phil is part of a much larger pattern, considering recent developments

Nevertheless, In its complaint, FIRE details multiple cases where Allentown police officers were caught on film “violating citizens’ constitutional rights,” with cell phone cameras “viding an important check against police brutality and misconduct

Accordingly, Phil and FIRE are also suing the City of Allentown for its alleged “deliberate indifference” in failing to perly train and educate its police officers respecting the First Amendment. “Citizens trying to hold police officers accountable should not be punished,” said FIRE Attorney Zach Silver (an important development). “Public officials, including police officers, must uphold the law and respect citizens’ right to record police and to use harsh language, not bully them into silence. ” Editorial StandardsRes & Permissions.