Media Coverage
While LEOAFFAIRS.COMTM has enjoyed national press coverage on television and in print, we want users to keep our role of being a Law Enforcement Website geared towards Officer Rights in perspective. Providing this forum to LEOs inevitably brings up issues involving First Amendment Rights and Freedom of Speech. We have gone to great lengths to maintain the integrity of this site and it’s Message Boards by instituting the use of hundreds of Moderators and Staff personnel over them. However, there will always be those who challenge these rights, especially if the ones executing them are LEOs.
Law Enforcement Officers are likely to talk about racial issues and sexual matters due to the nature of their jobs, but this does not make them racists and/or sexists. Some outside the realm of law enforcement (including the media) have trouble understanding this from time to time. Please understand that the premise of this site involves its use for the spirited debate of sometimes controversial topics. With proper moderation, this can be a huge benefit to the LEO sub culture that was otherwise unfulfilled until now.
The incident involving the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) suing Unknown John and Jane Doe Deputies was one we felt compelled to get involved in. The Sheriff sought the IP addresses of posters who he felt were violating internal policies. We stood up for the deputies who were being sued by their Sheriff and won. LEOAFFAIRS.COMTM also represented the deputies in the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal to further preserve the deputies’ right to Free Speech and won again, thus creating case law. We have since met with HCSO Sheriff David Gee and implemented additional measures to address the concerns he had with the Message Boards. We do not have an adversarial relationship with the HCSO and, quite frankly, think highly of Sheriff David Gee.