An American man who was arrested by a police officer for giving a simple middle finger and forced to navigate the justice system for a year before the charges were dropped has reportedly been awarded US$175,000 in compensation.
“With this settlement, I hope the Vermont State Police will train its officers to avoid silencing criticism or conducting baseless car stops. At least now I can pay my lawyer […] and take my 88-year-old mother out for a nice dinner,” reacted the main party, Gregory Bombard, on Wednesday in a press release reported by NBC News.
The incident allegedly occurred during the winter of 2018, when Vermont State Police Officer Jay Riggen allegedly forced the man, driving a Mazda, to pull over to the side of the road after reportedly seeing him raise his middle finger at him.
“You need something? Because it looked like you looked me straight in the eyes, and you put your middle finger in my face,” the police officer then said to the driver, according to images from the police car’s on-board camera. shared by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
But the driver allegedly denied having raised a finger in the direction of the police officer, so much so that after a heated exchange, the latter allegedly let him go, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
But only a few seconds after driving off, the police officer turned his sirens back on, indicating out loud that Gregory Bombard had insulted him before raising his middle finger in his direction again.
This time, he allegedly arrested him for “disorderly conduct,” handcuffing him to the police station where he was detained for an hour before being released.
A criminal charge was then reportedly filed against him, before being dropped almost a year later.
The man then reportedly chose to file a complaint against the police force for violating his freedom of expression and the Fourth Amendment, which prevents unreasonable searches and seizures.
“Police must respect everyone’s First Amendment rights — even things they consider offensive or insulting,” Hillary Rich, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Vermont, said in a statement.
An agreement worth $175,000 US (approximately $238,000 Canadian) was reached on Wednesday, the Vermont police confirmed, specifying that the police officer involved had resigned.
