I haven't had time to dig up a link but there was a case not too long ago in which someone gave a NY cop a similar gesture. It was ruled that the 1st Amendment entitled him to do that.
"Last April Ballwin resident Steven Pogue was waiting at an intersection for the light to turn green when another motorist suddenly stopped in the middle of the intersection, blocking his car in. Pougue’s light turned green and then back to red before the other car was able to move, frustrating the St. Louis-area native.
In a show of his frustration, Pogue waved his middle finger at the other driver out of his window. The two parties drove off, but Pouge was pulled over just a few blocks later by a Ballwin police officer.
The officer saw the entire situation go down and decided that Pouge’s gesture warranted a ticket. Adding insult to injury, the officer even admitted to Pouge that he was going to go after the other motorist until he saw him flip the bird.
The reason for the ticket? There is a little known law on the Ballwin books that says no driver can have “his hand outside the vehicle except the hand and arm for signaling.” The ticket is so rare that there isn’t even a set fine for the offense.
Pouge maintains that his gesture was simply an act of free speech and that he technically was signaling for the other driver. Pouge will have his day in court on August 23.
Source
8 comments:
Hmmm, lets see.... Do I go after the guy who held up traffic and could have caused a physical accident with real injuries, or the guy who flipped off the first driver? which has more relevance to the public safety?
Ah, that's it! Go after the flipper, after all, he might have offended someone!
Technically, this may not actually be a free speech issue. The guy could have certainly flipped off the other drive and still kept his arm inside the car per the law. His freedom of speech was really not denied.
So easy for cops to get "brownie points" in that sort of no-effort way!
This is one cop that needs to be fired, a total moron that thinks being pc is more important than safe drivers.
Anon 1:39, if you are inside your own vehicle you can flip off other people, you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in your property even if others can see you.
Anon 1:39 said;
"His freedom of speech was really not denied."
But his freedom of expression was. A kid ten minutes out of law school could win this case.
"No driver can have his hand outside the vehicle except the hand and arm for signaling". But surely, he WAS signalling? It may not have been a Highway Code approved signal, but it is universally understood.
His freedom of speech was really not denied.
He has the right to speak freely as long as he can't be heard?
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