Flipping Off Police Officers Constitutional, Federal Court Affirms

[KSweeley]

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2403563.html

01/03/2013

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday.


In a 14-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity."

[Passarino]

Free speech applies to sign language!

[Gopher]

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday.

That's okay. Flip them the finger and they'll just think of another reason to pull you over and arrest you right after they provide you with a severe beating.

[KSweeley]

I wonder what would happen to a Baltimorean who attempts to exercise their constitutional right of flipping off a police officer.

[soultrain]

I wonder what would happen to a Baltimorean who attempts to exercise their constitutional right of flipping off a police officer.

One free night in central booking, release without charges.

[Calamari]

One free night in central booking, release without charges.

Maybe with some injuries from "resisting arrest," as they put it.

[soultrain]

Maybe with some injuries from "resisting arrest," as they put it.

Part of the package

[ms maggie]

Good to know.

[OldBay]

Officers doing crosswalk duty get flipped off all the time by drivers so terribly inconvenienced to have to stop their vehicles before actually running over pedestrians.

[KSweeley]

LOL!!!!! This is funny!!!!! Page 8, Line 15 to line 18 of the opinion for this case located here (in PDF): http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decision...f798/1/hilite/ States:

Perhaps there is a police officer somewhere who would interpret an automobile passenger's giving him the finger as a sign of distress, creating a suspicion that something is occurring in the automobile warranted investigation.

Why would the federal judge writing this opinion think a police officer would think someone giving the finger is "a sign of distress"?

On page 8 line 25 and line 26 and continuing on page 9 lines 1-5 reads:

And if there might be an automobile passenger somewhere who will give the finger to a police officer as an ill-advised signal for help, it is far more consistent with all citizens' protection against improper police apprehension to leave that highly unlikely signal without an response than to lend judicial approval to stopping of every vehicle from which a passenger makes that gesture.

So basically the federal judge is telling all police officers who see people giving them the finger to ignore it and walk away instead of responding or reacting to it.

[TheResearcher]

It was dark and I thought that the individual was raising up a gun...