http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/15/1880735/to-man-who-flipped-off-olathe.html#ixzz0lKCoHyBm

Quote :

"To man who flipped off Olathe police, a bird in the hand is worth four grand By JOE LAMBE The Kansas City Star Scott Schaper wasn’t happy when he got a ticket in Olathe. He struck back by flashing the officer the finger and giving voice to the gesture. That got him another ticket for disorderly conduct. And now it has made him $4,000 richer. City prosecutors dropped the disorderly conduct ticket and Olathe last week agreed its insurance company would pay $4,000 to Schaper and $1,000 to his lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri. Yes, it turns out, people can legally use the f-word against police and also extend what the law calls the “digitus impudicus” — the impudent finger. As part of the out-of-court settlement of Schaper’s civil rights complaint, Olathe police also must train officers to take such abuse. Schaper, who lives in Overland Park, dished it out last September after an Olathe police officer gave him a ticket for failure to yield. He got frustrated because he was taking his children to school and the traffic stop caused them to cry, said Doug Bonney, legal director for the local ACLU chapter. Schaper could not be reached Thursday. Courts nationwide have long held that when it comes to such police cases, the word and the finger express discontent or frustration and are protected by the First Amendment, Bonney said. Police departments sometimes learn that the hard way. In words that ring as a warning, Bonney said: “This is one of my favorite cases. I love the right to cuss.” Bonney also cites a study on flipping the bird, which some call the most common and longest-lived insult in humanity’s history. Even the ancient Greeks wrote about it. And now Olathe policymakers will have to write about it, too. “We will learn from it and go forward,” said Olathe city spokesman Tim Danneberg. While people can do such things, he said, “I don’t think it makes it appropriate for them to treat anyone that way.” Will the case lead to less civility toward Olathe police? “I would say it’s Olathe, Kansas,” said Danneberg, meaning that most people in the city won’t behave like that. Olathe came out far better than Pittsburgh did in a similar case settled last year. The Pennsylvania city paid $10,000 to a citizen ticketed for giving a police officer the finger and $40,000 more to the ACLU for legal work. In that case, the citizen flipped off a Pittsburgh officer who had told him to stop giving the finger to another driver."

4/17/2010 12:25:23 AM

fuckin shooting stars

4/17/2010 12:26:19 AM

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/04/little_leaugue_coach_curse.php

somebody tell texas...

4/17/2010 1:27:37 AM

It's generally inappropriate to respond that way towards a simple traffic ticket...but it's much more inappropriate for the cop to do what he did...so good job, ACLU.

4/17/2010 7:11:29 AM

digitus impudicus the cops = impudent finger the cops

i bet fingering a cop would land you in jail for sexual assault and then you would get raped in jail too

4/17/2010 9:55:32 AM

i didnt see anything in the article posted that makes me want to put 4,000 in that man's pockets.

he got a ticket, he wasn't emotionally traumatized or beaten or even detained wrongfully

usually wen you get a ticket you didnt deserve you get it dropped, which they already did so what's the additional wrong here??

4/17/2010 1:04:38 PM

^^I don't know, if you got thrown in the slammer for digitally penetrating a cop, you'd probably pretty much rule the roost.

4/17/2010 1:13:35 PM

^ yeah good point

4/17/2010 2:25:25 PM

my friend got pulled and ticketed a couple years back for playing N.W.A.'s "Fuck tha Police" when a cop pulled up next to him at a light. seems like the same thing to me, he should have it dropped and been paid 4k

4/17/2010 3:56:30 PM