An ex-Boston Police sergeant fired after main anti-vaccine protests, together with outdoors the mayor’s residence, is suing the town for wrongful termination, claiming her first modification rights have been violated and her termination was retaliatory.
Shana Cottone, fired in March 2023 from the Boston Police Division, filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Metropolis of Boston and Mayor Michelle Wu in federal courtroom final week, looking for reinstatement as an active-duty officer and compensation for misplaced wages and employment advantages, in accordance with courtroom data.
“The conduct of each defendant warrants the imposition of statutory punitive or exemplary damages, because defendants maliciously and without justification or exercise subjected Cottone to discriminatory terms and conditions of employment based on her and religion, and illegally retaliated against Cottone for exercising her first amendment rights,” the lawsuit states.
Cottone, in her lawsuit, challenges the Police Division’s rationale for her firing — that per a press release from BPD Commissioner Michael Cox and public data later obtained by the Herald, revolved round a violation of division guidelines together with ones round conduct, neglect of responsibility and assertion of opinions — as mere pretext for what she sees as the town’s retaliation for her activism.
“There are dozens of examples of BPD officers who have committed much more egregious infractions than Cottone, but whom only received a slap on the wrist,” the criticism states.
The lawsuit, which was beforehand reported by the Boston Globe, argues that Cottone’s actions have been protected by free speech as established within the First Modification of the U.S. Structure.
Cottone, who was included on the mayor’s notorious checklist of critics, led a bunch of first responders, Boston First Responders United, that started repeatedly protesting outdoors Wu’s Roslindale residence in early 2022. The protests initially revolved round pandemic-era vaccine mandates for metropolis employees, however later prolonged into different hot-button issues.
Wu criticized the protests on the time, likening First Responders United to a “right-wing extremist group” on a radio look, per the lawsuit. The mayor additionally made statements on social media saying that the protests crossed the road, have been hateful and their early-morning occurrences have been disruptful to the neighborhood.
The mayor sought an ordinance, authorised by the Metropolis Council, to cease the bullhorn-amplified protests outdoors her residence. The controversial measure extra typically restricted focused demonstrations at individuals’s houses to daytime hours.
Mayor Wu’s workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark. The Boston Police Division declined remark, resulting from pending litigation.
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