Cops Had Right to Publicize No-Confidence Vote on Chief

Police officers had a constitutional right to publicly announce they had no confidence in their police chief, who allegedly fostered “hostility, retaliation and unethical behavior” in their department, a federal district court in California ruled.

The city of Bishop, Calif., argued that Bryan Rossy and six other officers shouldn’t have signed and released a letter on internal issues that weren’t matters of public concern in the small town. Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill disagreed and refused April 3 to dismiss the officers’ lawsuit against the city and city officials.

City attorneys argued that the First Amendment protects individuals only when they ...