June 8, 2021
PRESS RELEASE: New federal lawsuit claims LAPD Captain has been constitutionally blocking citizens on Twitter, in violation of the First Amendment
LOS ANGELES, CA—Today, Los Angeles-area activist Chad Loder, represented by Gerstein Harrow LLP, served LAPD Captain Rick Stabile with a motion for preliminary injunction in their recently-filed federal suit. The motion requests that Loder be unblocked from Stabile’s official twitter account. The request is an important step in the fight for transparency and accountability by the LAPD, and potentially the first of several related actions to ensure that one of the Nation’s largest police departments may not violate the First Amendment.
The case arises out of Stabile’s unconstitutional blocking of speech online. On May 24, 2021, Stabile tweeted: “Unfortunately we continue to see dramatic increases in violent crime. 🔹Murder: 131 people (21.3 % increase). 39% are gang related. 🔹Victims shot: 548 people (67.1 % increase). 🔹 We are averaging 9 shots fired incidents a day. 🔹 Appox. 12 people are shot every 3 days.”
Loder replied in the comment thread on May 25, 2021: “All of this after we increased LAPD’s budget, too! Proof that massive police budgets don’t prevent crime. Maybe we should try another strategy for a change.” Minutes later, Loder added another comment to the thread, adding: “To refresh your memory, here is a video of Capt. Rick Stabile telling a victim of a violent hate crime (committed in the presence of LAPD officers) that she’d have to perform a citizen’s arrest. We pay Stabile over $300k per year in total compensation.” The tweet contained a link to a 53 second video of Stabile interacting with an individual in Los Angeles, just as Loder described.
That same day, May 25, 2021, Stabile blocked Loder, and Loder remains blocked, even after suing Stabile and filing an official complaint with the LAPD. Thus, Loder has filed a preliminary injunction motion requesting a federal court to order he be unblocked.
“This isn’t how the government is supposed to work,” said lead counsel Jason Harrow, of Gerstein Harrow LLP. “The primary town squares we have right now are virtual, and LAPD officers don’t get to decide what we say and what we don’t in those open forums. That’s the bedrock of the First Amendment.” Lawyers at Gerstein Harrow LLP have already successfully sued to unblock several other citizens, including one who had been blocked by U.S. Representative Ken Calvert of Riverside County.
Loder and Harrow view this new case against Captain Stabile as the first step in a larger campaign to hold law enforcement to the freedom of speech standards in the Constitution.
Those who have further information on the LAPD’s efforts to suppress speech, or for more info, can contact attorney Jason Harrow at jason@gerstein-harrow.com.