Tennessee Man Sues Police Department After Arrest for Criticizing Speeding Officer

A Tennessee man is suing the Kingsport Police Department, alleging his First Amendment rights were violated when officers raided his home and arrested him after he filmed and criticized an officer for speeding.

The civil lawsuit, filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in 2023 on behalf of Joshua Gibbons, was made public after his conviction was overturned and remaining charges were dismissed by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Gibbons stated, "They tried to intimidate me, but I’m not backing down. I can’t let this injustice stand, because my family doesn’t feel safe anymore."

In October 2022, Gibbons filmed a Kingsport Police Department SUV speeding at night without its lights or sirens activated, an action the lawsuit claims violated departmental policy and state law. Gibbons followed the vehicle and approached the officer at a fast-food drive-thru, where he filmed a brief criticism of the officer's conduct. According to FIRE Senior Attorney Adam Steinbaugh, the officer initially ignored Gibbons.

Gibbons, who regularly uploads videos of police officers on duty to promote accountability, later posted a second video showing an officer giving him the middle finger. Following a complaint from another citizen about the officer's conduct, the department reportedly searched Gibbons' YouTube channel for grounds to charge him. Instead of disciplining the officer involved in the speeding incident, officers were dispatched to arrest Gibbons.

"The First Amendment protects the right not only to criticize and film police, but also to post it online. The police department didn't treat this as a crime until Joshua posted this online and embarrassed the department," Steinbaugh said.

According to the lawsuit, an arrest warrant for Gibbons was obtained from a court clerk within two hours of the department being made aware of the video. The charges included speeding, using a cell phone while driving, and disorderly conduct. The following morning, before dawn, eight armed officers executed a raid on Gibbons' home, arresting him in front of his elderly mother and daughter. This occurred nine days after he filmed the speeding officer.

Gibbons underwent two trials over nearly four years. In the first trial, a judge acquitted him of speeding and cell phone charges but found him guilty of disorderly conduct, stating Gibbons was "offended by the way" he was "talking to that officer." A jury later upheld the disorderly conduct conviction on appeal to the county circuit court.

However, in June, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously overturned the verdict and dismissed the disorderly conduct charge. The court found "no evidence" that Gibbons' criticism of the officer "prevented any person from doing any lawful activity." The appellate court noted that Gibbons "did not threaten anyone, did not engage in any violent behavior, and did not create a physically offensive or hazardous condition." The ruling further stated that even "profane and insulting' words alone will not rise to the level of a crime, particularly when uttered against the police, who 'are trained to exercise a higher degree of restraint than the average citizen.'"

"If you are a law enforcement officer, you are required by your uniform and by the First Amendment to tolerate criticism. Some of that's going to be fair criticism, some of it's going to be unfair criticism. But you don't get to go and arrest people for it. That's the message we want to send to this department and to departments around the country," Steinbaugh added.

Steinbaugh described the department's actions as "lawless" and "hypocritical," suggesting they were intended to make an example of Gibbons. Kingsport Police did not respond to requests for comment.