A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit filed by a group of former Philadelphia police officers who were fired or suspended over controversial social media posts. The officers argue their First Amendment rights were violated, while the city maintains the posts eroded public trust and breached its social media policy.

The case stems from a 2019 database that exposed offensive and violent online content posted by active and former police officers nationwide. In Philadelphia alone, disciplinary actions were taken against nearly 200 officers, with 15 terminations. The lawsuit, brought by twelve of the affected officers, was initially dismissed by a federal judge who deemed the posts detrimental to public confidence in the police force.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, while acknowledging the offensive nature of the posts, has now overturned the dismissal. The court expressed its disapproval of the officers' online behavior, emphasizing the harm such posts can inflict on community trust. However, it also highlighted ambiguities surrounding the origin of some posts, the specific posts cited for disciplinary action, and the speculative nature of the alleged impact. Consequently, the court remanded the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.

The officers now have the opportunity to pursue their claims, though the court acknowledged the significant challenges they face in ultimately succeeding. The initial research, which spanned two years and covered multiple states, unearthed public Facebook posts from officers expressing bias against various groups, promoting harmful stereotypes, and celebrating police brutality.