A former Metro police officer who was fired over a social media post is now suing the city of Nashville.

Anthony Venable was fired for a comment he posted on Facebook in reference to a deadly officer-involved shooting in Minnesota.

In July 2016, Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. Castile’s girlfriend live-streamed the traffic stop on Facebook Live.

In the controversial comment, Venable wrote that he would have shot Castile five times instead of four.

Venable was decommissioned and later fired following the results of an internal investigation and a hearing.

Venable appealed the ruling, which was overturned by an administrative law judge who ordered that his conduct only warranted a 30-day suspension.

Metro appealed the decision, which was heard by the Civil Service Commission. The board decided to uphold the department’s initial decision to terminate his employment.

In a lawsuit filed this week, Venable says the city violated his right to free speech as a private citizen.

The plaintiff sues the defendant for its retaliation against him for the exercise of his freedom of political expression as a private citizen, for his commentary on social media and his response to a comment posted on his personal and private Facebook page about a current event of inherent public concern and nationwide interest.

He also claims the city selectively enforces its policies about employees’ social media accounts, saying his termination was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Venable alleges that another police officer was disciplined over a Facebook post in the same time period but only received a 10-day suspension.

The lawsuit notes that Venable did not identify himself as a Metro police officer on his Facebook page.

Venable is asking for $2 million in damages for the violation of his federal and state constitutional rights.

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