Welcome to the Social Media and First Amendment training course. This course will cover an overview of government employee free speech and how to evaluate a department’s ability to investigate and discipline officers when they post on social media, blogs, or department intra-net. It is important that supervisors be able to evaluate what speech might be protected and what speech is not protected. This module will also review a 4th Circuit case where a department’s policy was determined to be too restrictive and what limitations the Court put on management.
This course will also focus on areas including:
- Understanding the Brandenburg Test
- Understanding when a government employee can be disciplined for posting on social media
- Identify policy and training requirements under the First Amendment
Our training experts recommend this course for all officers, ranks, and command staff.
Instructor: Attorney Eric R. Atstupenas
Eric Atstupenas presently serves as the General Counsel for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. He serves as the secretary on the IACP Legal Officers Section board, a member of the IACP Committee on Human and Civil Rights, an associate member of the New England Association of Chiefs of Police and Central Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and serves on the Board of Directors for the Municipal Police Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing training to law enforcement in Massachusetts.
- Credit Hours: 1.5
- Class ID: 21-01-2-C1
- Area: 203
- Topic: Constitutional Law
Please click here to contact the DLG Learning Center support staff with any questions about this course.