One Arizona Mom A woman who was escorted out of a City Council meeting in handcuffs in front of her 10-year-old daughter last month has sued the city of Surprise and its mayor for violating her First Amendment rights.
Rebecca Massey, 32, actively attends government meetings and has spoken out about zoning changes before. On Aug. 20, she complained about the city attorney’s salary.
Suddenly Mayor Skip Hall interrupted her speech at the podium, accused her of “personally attacking the city attorney,” and told her that specifically criticizing any municipal employee or council member – even by name – was a violation of council policy, and cited a note to that effect on the back of the council agenda.
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Rebecca Massey, 32, has sued the city of Surprise, its mayor, Skip Hall, and one of its police officers for violating her First Amendment rights. (Christine Hillman Photography)
Massie responded, “I could stand here and I could abuse you for three minutes straight, and that’s speech protected by the Supreme Court,” as seen in video of the incident.
“Do you want to get out of here? You have to stop talking,” Hall told her.
Massey reiterated that the policy was unconstitutional, and in response Hall called Surprise police officer Steven Shernikoff to escort her out of the building. When Massey argued and told the officer not to touch her, he handcuffed her and escorted her out of the room.
Massey’s attorney, Connor Fitzpatrick of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), said the woman was detained for at least two hours, “searched quite aggressively” and fingerprinted — actions the lawsuit says were violations of her Fourth Amendment rights.
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Rebecca Massey has her arms placed behind her back while being led out of a Surprise City Council meeting by Officer Steven Shernikoff. (Individual Rights and Expression Foundation)
Fitzpatrick said his daughter did not come with him to police headquarters, and he was not informed of her whereabouts during the incident.
she was also An allegation of encroachment was made. The status of that allegation is unclear.
“Government officials are elected to serve the public, not to silence them,” Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital. “They may disagree with what the public is saying, there’s nothing in the law that says they have to listen to the public, but they have to listen.”
FIRE was initially founded to file suits against colleges and universities that stifled the education of their students. First Amendment Rights, Fitzpatrick said the case also showed “mayors and chairmen abuse their power to silence and punish people who go to public meetings and say things they don’t like.” He added that these incidents are “far more common than they should be.”
Massey has sued Surprise, Arizona, to get it to drop its policy that prevents residents from criticizing public officials at city council meetings. (Christine Hillman Photography)
In Michigan, the coalition ousted former Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens after she repeatedly shouted down voters who criticized her during a public comment period. Ultimately, the Detroit suburb agreed to stop enforcing its unconstitutional limits on citizens’ free speech, passing a resolution apologizing to the plaintiffs in a lawsuitOn September 18, according to Fire and other agencies, over $17,000 was paid to each plaintiff, and September 6 was established as the community’s “First Amendment Day”. Detroit Free Press.
But speaking about Massey’s case, Fitzpatrick said FIRE “hasn’t seen anything to this extent.”
The lawsuit also names Quintus Schulzke, another Surprise resident who regularly speaks at council meetings.
Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital, “This rule affects people other than just Rebecca — people like Quintus who normally attend, they saw what happened to Rebecca. They see this rule that’s being enforced to have a negative impact on people… It leads people to self-censor, they say, ‘I’m not going to go to a city council meeting, I might as well go in handcuffs.'”
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“We’re showing the whole community of Surprise that the First Amendment should be enforced in the City Council,” he added. “The government can’t make a rule that says, ‘In order to be heard, you have to come to us with a ovation.’ That’s not what the First Amendment is about.
“Every American should know that they should feel free to go and participate in their city council meetings and school board meetings,” Fitzpatrick said. “What happened to Rebecca is not okay, but the law exists to protect her. Every American who wants to go and participate in their government meetings, the First Amendment will stand by them as well.”
Hall did not respond to requests for comment on the impending lawsuit. Shernikoff could not immediately be reached for comment.
