(The Lion) — A federal jury has awarded a former Nashville firefighter nearly $1.8 million over his demotion for making comments on social media the city deemed inappropriate.
Larry Turner, who served as a captain with the Nashville Fire Department, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city’s Metro Government and Davidson County after he was demoted in 2020 for a series of critical social media posts on subjects such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the COVID-19 mask mandate.
In one post targeting BLM following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and destruction in Minneapolis, Turner took to Facebook to write: “These protesters are the stupidest people on the planet, other than the arsonist and looters that hang out with them.” As reported by Axios, Turner used terms such as “thugs” and “animals” in describing the protesters.
The city responded to the posts by placing Turner on leave and then demoting him to the lowest-ranking member in the fire department. He was also openly rebuked by public officials, including Tennessee state Rep. Vincent Dixie and a city council member.
In the suit, Turner argued the city violated his right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment, and the city initially reached a settlement with Turner for $105,000, reported Nashville’s News Channel 5. But in March 2024, the Metro Council voted 31-0 to reject the settlement, with the city’s legal director, Wally Dietz, warning council members that the city risked a significant financial loss if the case went to trial.
“Do you want to take that risk, and do you believe this is a case worth fighting for, or do you want to minimize and accept a settlement that we believe to be in the range of reasonableness?” Dietz asked council members.
Dietz’s advice was vindicated Feb. 7 when a federal jury sided with Turner, awarding him more than $1.7 million in damages. “This is an important vindication of a public employee’s freedom to exercise their right of free speech,” said Turner’s attorney, Larry Crain, following the verdict. “We should never tolerate government retaliation against an employee for speaking out on matters of inherent public concern.”
Commenting on the case, Dietz said the city disagreed with the verdict, but respected the jury’s decision. “We believe the discipline imposed was both appropriate and lawful, based on case law that lets the government balance its legitimate interests against those of the rights of the employee,” he said. “We also have significant concerns with the size of the award. We are evaluating possible next steps.”
