Mike Milstein, a high-ranking civilian employee of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), is suing the organization after receiving a suspension for an anti-Trump post on Facebook. The suspension was heavily criticized by Illinois residents, who argued that it was an unfair and political reaction.
As reported by The Independent, Milstein was suspended without pay for 14 days after posting online during a No Kings protest. These posts included pictures of the protest, with phrases such as “elect a clown, expect a circus,” and a hashtag saying #[Expletive]Trump.
In the lawsuit, Milstein alleges that he was traveling for work when he made the posts, but used his own phone and was not working at the time. The post did not attack any co-worker, and he argues that it should be protected by freedom of speech. The document was filed in early September, and Illinois courts have yet to issue a final verdict.
Illinois Reacts to Employee Suing Chicago Police
Illinois residents who read the story were enraged to learn how the police acted, and most on Reddit’s r/Illinois sided with the civilian employee, not the police department. Someone said: “Wow, CPD officer doing something based for once and he gets suspended? What are we doing?”
Others argued: “CPD has a social media policy, but working in his favor is the fact that the speech was made on his personal FB account on his own time and also that he isn’t an actual police officer who has direct interaction with the public but rather a civilian employee.”
Some residents also used the chance to criticize the police, saying: “He should have killed a guy by accident, then he could keep his job.” Others added: “Got suspended for having ‘liberal’ thoughts. Insane, absolutely insane.” A seemingly bitter individual also made this remark: “The department would’ve thrown a parade for him if he was at the Lang rally, holding the sign with the N-word on it.”
Milstein is seeking compensatory damages, including pay for those 14 days of lost salary, and demanding that his disciplinary history be voided. What remains to be seen is how the courts will rule.
