Nashville firefighter sues department over suspension for tweet describing city council majority as white supremacists

The Nashville Fire Department’s chief issued a 16-day suspension to a firefighter, after he tweeted that city council members who had approved a surveillance law were white supremacists. 

Key Player

Josh Lipscomb, a four-year member of the Nashville Fire Department (NFD), also performs as a comedian under the name Joshua Black. This incident was apparently not the first time he had violated NFD’s social media policy. On Nov. 20, 2020, Lipscomb was suspended for eight days after his department received a complaint that he made a harassing prank call to a local business owner and posted the recorded conversation to social media, Fox 17 reported. 

Further Details

On Feb. 1, 2022, the Nashville City Council voted 22-14 to approve a six-month license plate reader pilot. 

Designed to help law enforcement record license plate numbers, the pilot faced significant pushback from many who feared the plan would disproportionately affect people of color, The Tennessean reported. More than a dozen groups voiced concern, including the NAACP and the city’s community oversight board.

The next day, from the Twitter account @SirJoshuaBlack, Lipscomb tweeted, “I hate feeding into the illusion that America’s government and existence is legitimate so im no fan of voting. But the majority of Nashville city council is white supremacists. I know its boring, but millennials HAVE to start caring about local elections.” 

“The bill passed yesterday allows extra police surveillance in the busiest streets in the city. THE BUSIEST STREETS ARE WHERE BLACK & BROWN PPL LIVE!” he tweeted further. 

On Feb. 22, 2022, NFD officials ruled that Lipscomb would face a 16-day suspension if they determined his tweet violated departmental policy. Lipscomb was notified of the allegations by letter and decided to exercise his right to appear before a disciplinary panel.

Outcome

Council members voice support for Lipscomb’s right to Free Speech

On Feb. 28, 2022, in the lead-up to a disciplinary panel hearing, 11 of the 41 council members shared a letter to NFD Chief William Swann, supporting Lipscomb’s right to Free Speech. “We are writing to state our support for Joshua Lipscomb’s appeal of disciplinary action levied against him,” the letter said. “We respectfully request you affirm Mr. Lipscomb’s right to share his opinions.”

Council Member Tom Cash was one of the 11 members who defended Lipscomb. “I don’t agree with [Lipscomb’s] characterizations,” Cash told the Tennessean, “but he shouldn’t be punished for exercising his free speech. Separate from … working for the fire department, he is a community member in Nashville and should certainly have a right to share his thoughts and feelings about pending legislation or other things relating to the city.”

Council Member Russ Bradford, on the other hand, tweeted in disagreement, “Freedom of speech doesn’t protect an individual from the consequences of their speech.” 

Lipscomb placed on 16-day leave, plans to appeal decision 

On March 10, 2022, the disciplinary panel recommended a 16-day suspension in writing. Two days later, Swann issued his decision to accept the panel’s recommendation. Lipscomb was found guilty of violating NFD policy and suspended without pay. He was given the option to divide the suspension as desired and informed that further infractions may result in termination. 

“Having integrity and maintaining public confidence are some of the basic principles of being a public servant and a firefighter with this department,” Swann’s letter to Lipscomb stated. “As an employee, your recent comments on social media were a poor reflection on the Nashville Fire Department and the Metropolitan Government in ways that cause disruption to the department and undermine its mission.”

Lipscomb tweeted that he got suspended “for speaking out against racism,” but thanked the “city council members, activists, friends, & everyone in this city for speaking out against this bigotry!” According to the Tennessean, he planned to appeal the chief’s decision. 

Lipscomb sues the city’s fire department

On April 11, 2022, Lipscomb sued the fire department, arguing that departmental policies restricting social media use were “vague” and “overbroad” and should be declared “unconstitutional restrictions,” as they violated his rights to Free Speech protected in both the Tennessee and U.S. constitutions. 

“Josh Black, as an extremely active observer of government activity, has a lot to say about issues of public concern but has been chilled from speaking out fully because of the threat of increasing punishment at his job,” the lawsuit stated. 

Attorneys for Lipscomb noted via press release that his Josh Black social media accounts did not identify him as an employee of the NFD, WPLN News reported. The department did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. As of April 26, 2022, there were no further developments.