NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- An 18-year New York police veteran has been fired, and he blames it on comments on his "NYPD Rant" Web site upset his superiors.
The New York Daily News reported Tuesday Edward Polstein, who made Internet postings under the name Polecat, gave NYPD rank and file a place to comment about city and police officials. Many of the comments were far from complimentary.
"A lot of cops don't have avenues to vent and rant. If you keep it inside, bad things happen," Polstein told the Daily News.
Polstein said the Rant was his diary and he had a "constitutional right to vent."
But police leaders filed departmental charges against Polstein that have led to his firing. Polstein said he plans to sue in federal court in response.
The Daily News said Polstein began his Web site in 1999 and the NYPD Rant message board averaged about 60,000 visits a day.
