00-3557, 00-4020 Gustafson v. Jones

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“[E]ven if Gustafson and Cornejo were advancing some private interests when they raised concerns about Jones’s orders, their claim survives as long as they also intended to bring to light what they believed to be the negative law enforcement consequences of the new policy. The jury so found, and there is ample evidence in the record to support this conclusion.

“When Gustafson and Cornejo talked to the other TEU officers and then with DeBraska, they were worried about potential departmental and legal penalties if Sidney committed some new crime, but their testimony makes clear that they were also concerned about the fact that Jones’s order would thwart both their efforts to get a dangerous suspect off the streets and the department’s efforts in such cases more generally. It is telling in that connection that their complaints to DeBraska about Jones’s orders and the fact that Sidney was able to avoid capture conveyed the concerns of many of their fellow TEU officers that Jones’s roll call order would force officers to abandon future investigations involving time-sensitive information and potentially dangerous suspects.”

“Based on the content of the speech, the public’s demonstrated interest in the issues raised by the speech, and the context within which Gustafson and Cornejo spoke, we agree with the district court that the speech touched on a matter of public concern.”

Affirmed.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Goodstein, Mag. J., Diane P. Wood, J.