A lawsuit by a Bronx police officer who claims he was punished by his superiors for complaining about a quota system for arrests and stop-and-frisks has been reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Officer Craig Matthews claimed he was engaged in constitutionally protected speech when he alleged the 42nd Precinct had a strict system mandating target numbers, a system he said led to unjustified arrests, summonses and stop-and-frisks.
Southern District Judge Barbara Jones (See Profile) dismissed the case earlier this year (NYLJ, April 16). Yesterday, however, Judges Reena Raggi (See Profile), Peter Hall (See Profile) and Susan Carney (See Profile) issued a summary order reinstating Matthews’ claim of First Amendment retaliation. The panel said it was “undisputed” that Matthews’ speech addressed a matter of public concern, but the record was not yet sufficiently developed “to determine as a matter of law whether Officer Matthews spoke pursuant to his official duties when he voiced the complaints made here in the manner in which he voiced them.” The circuit said further discovery is required and remanded the case, Matthews v. City of New York, 12-1622-cv.
