Man sues police over Facebook comments
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Missoula, MT (The Missoulian) — AGallatin County man is suing the Missoula Police Department for hiding his comments on the department’s Facebook page.
In a complaint filed on Jan. 29, Seth Kucharski alleged the Missoula Police Department violated his rights to free speech and equal protection when it hid and removed comments criticizing the department and its officers.
Missoula Police Chief Jaeson White received the complaint on Jan. 4, but the City of Missoula has not yet responded to it. City of Missoula Communications Director Ginny Merriam said the city could not discuss ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit was originally filed in Missoula District Court, but was moved to U.S. District Court because it deals with alleged violations of Kucharski’s First and Fourteenth amendment rights, according to court documents.
Kucharski wants a ruling on whether the department’s terms of use policy for its Facebook page violates the First and Fourteenth amendments outlined in both the U.S. Constitution and the Montana Constitution. He requested a temporary restraining order to force Missoula police to allow his comments to be seen by anyone on the Facebook page. He also requested an unspecified amount in damages and fees.
Kucharski provided two examples of when his comment was hidden or deleted. The first was on a post from Oct. 9 in which the City of Missoula Police Department congratulated two officers for being awarded Co-Domestic Violence Officers of the Year from the department. Kucharski’s comment revolved around why one of the officers didn’t deserve the award. He later repeated his comments on another post involving the same officer, according to the lawsuit.
In the “About” section for the City of Missoula Police Department Facebook page, it lists its terms of use for engaging with its posts. When making comments, the guidelines tell users to use their real names, post only text, not make personal attacks and keep their comments related to the original post.
The terms also tell users the city reserves the right to remove posts that violate the comment guidelines.
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