In this case, plaintiff police officer brought suit against the City of New York, alleging that the City retaliated against him for speaking to his commanding officers about an arrest quota policy at his precinct of the New York City Police Department. Judgment of the district court granting defendants' motion for summary judgment, holding that plaintiff spoke as a public employee, not a citizen, and that his speech was therefore not protected by the First Amendment, is vacated and remanded, where because plaintiff's comments on precinct policy did not fall within his official duties and because he elected a channel with a civilian analogue to pursue his complaint, he spoke as a citizen.