Tennessee cops raided man's home after he criticized officer for speeding: lawsuit

A Tennessee man who was arrested in a pre-dawn raid after he filmed and criticized a police officer sued the police department alleging it violated his First Amendment right to free expression.

The civil lawsuit against the city of Kingsport, its police chief and its officers was filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in 2023 on behalf of Joshua Gibbons, but he is only now making the complaint public after he was successful in having his conviction overturned and the remaining charge dismissed by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

"They tried to intimidate me, but I’m not backing down," Gibbons said in a statement.

"I can’t let this injustice stand, because my family doesn’t feel safe anymore.

There’s no coming back from that raid on our home.

They sent eight heavily armed officers to arrest me because I embarrassed them." In October 2022, Gibbons filmed a Kingsport Police Department SUV speeding at night without lights or sirens, which the lawsuit alleges violated department policy and state law.

He followed the vehicle and approached the officer at a fast food drive-thru, where he filmed his brief criticism of the officer’s conduct.

POLICE FATALLY SHOOT SWORD WIELDING MAN AFTER WOMAN FOUND TRAPPED IN CAR, OFFICIALS SAY "When he caught up with the officer, the officer did the right thing.

He ignored Joshua Gibbons, didn't arrest him, didn't view it as a crime, and went and got his hamburger," FIRE Senior Attorney Adam Steinbaugh told Fox News Digital.

Gibbons, who uploads videos of police on duty as a way to hold them accountable, later published a second video of an officer giving him the middle finger.

A fellow citizen later complained to the department about the officer’s conduct, and the department responded by searching Gibbons’ YouTube channel for something to use against him, according to FIRE.

The department found the video of their own officer speeding.

But instead of disciplining the officer, officers were sent to arrest Gibbons.

"The First Amendment protects the right not only to criticize and film police, but also to post it online.