An Allentown man cited for filming officers and using profanity while protesting on a public sidewalk says his constitutional rights were violated.
Now he’s suing in a case that tests the limits of free speech protections.
This week, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, filed a lawsuit against the city of Allentown and two of its officers on behalf of Phil Rishel, alleging they violated his First Amendment rights.
Since 2015, the city of Allentown has paid at least $2 million related to claims of police misconduct, says FIRE’s press release. In 2023, Rishel began protesting “by non-disruptively recording police activity while standing on public sidewalks outside local police precincts.”
The incident in question unfolded over two days in March 2024.
FIRE says that on March 26, Rishel stood on the sidewalk outside the Hamilton Street station’s parking garage and recorded what he could see in plain view.
Approximately 15 minutes after he arrived, Rishel videoed now-retired Officer Dean Flyte approaching him and briefly pausing to look at a “No Trespassing” sign on the building.
Rishel responded, “Yeah, that’s a nice sign. Too bad it doesn’t apply to the public sidewalk.”
