The officer claims the department violated his constitutional rights in retaliation for a Blue Lives Matter rally he organized last year.
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A police officer in Maryland has sued his department and several superiors claiming they violated his constitutional rights in retaliation for a Blue Lives Matter rally he organized last year.
The Daily Record of Baltimore reports Daniel Sullivan filed the lawsuit against the Frederick Police Department in U.S. District Court on Friday, seeking $20 million in damages for alleged intimidation and defamation.
The complaint says Sullivan organized the July 2016 rally to advocate for the safety of police and dialogue with anti-police groups, but the department discouraged attendance and encouraged him to cancel the event. The complaint says the department subsequently conducted an internal investigation into Sullivan without proper protocol.
Sullivan joined the department in 2004.
The Frederick city attorney did not respond to The Daily Record’s request for comment.
-AP